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Madame  de  Pompadour 


BY  ,   ■ 

H.    NOEL    WILLIAMS 

AUTHOR   OF    "MADAME   Rl^CAMIER   AND   HER    FRIENDS" 


'  Vou8  savez  ce  que  je  vous  ai  dit  en  diverses  occasions  contre  le  credit  des 
favoris  :  celui  d'une  maitresse  est  bien  plus  dangereux  " 

Memoires  de  Louis  XIV.  pour  V instruction  du  Dauphin 


WITH     PORTRAIT 


NEW   YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

153-157    FIFTH   AVENUE 


NEW  AND  REVISED  EDITION 


PREFACE    TO    FIRST    EDITION 

The  life  of  a  left-handed  queen  is  always  invested  with 
a  certain  degree  of  interest,  for  it  is  safe  to  assume  that, 
in  order  to  arouse  something  more  than  an  ephemeral 
passion  in  the  heart  of  a  monarch,  a  woman  must  have 
been  the  possessor  of  exceptional  qualities.  But  in  all 
the  long  roll  of  reines  de  la  main  gauche  it  is  open  to 
question  whether  there  is  one  whose  career  affords  any- 
thing approaching  the  attraction  for  the  student  of 
history  or  for  the  general  reader  as  does  that  of  the 
subject  of  the  present  volume. 

For  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  no  ordinary  king's 
mistress  ;  she  was  a  great  political  force.  She  made  and 
unmade  Ministers,  she  selected  Ambassadors,  she  ap- 
pointed generals,  she  conferred  pensions  and  places. 
Upon  her  rests  the  responsibility  for  that  sudden  change 
in  the  traditional  policy  of  France  towards  the  House  of 
Hapsburg  which  enabled  the  vindictive  Maria  Theresa 
to  fan  the  ashes  of  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession 
into  the  devouring  flame  which  ravaged  Europe  for 
seven  long  years  ;  and  to  her  influence  must  be  ascribed, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits  in 
France. 

Nor  was  her  activity  by  any  means  confined  to  politics. 


PREFACE 

It  is  to  her  that  France  is  indebted  for  the  world-famous 
manufactory  of  Sevres  ;  while  the  establishment  of  the 
Ecole  Militaire,  which  in  the  twenty-seven  years  of  its 
existence  gave  to  the  country  so  many  distinguished 
officers,  Napoleon  among  the  number,  was  mainly  due 
to  her  efforts. 

Men  of  letters  and  artists,  too,  found  in  her  a  gener- 
ous and  appreciative  friend.  She  protected  Voltaire  and 
Montesquieu,  rescued  the  elder  Crebillon  from  poverty 
and  neglect,  encouraged  Diderot  and  d'Alembert  in  their 
herculean  labours,  and  made  the  fortune  of  Marmontel ; 
while  it  was  she  who  introduced  Boucher  and  his  work 
to  the  Court  of  Louis  XV.,  placed  his  Forges  de  Vulcatn 
in  the  monarch's  private  apartments  at  Marly,  purchased 
the  famous  Lever  du  Soleil  and  Coucher  du  Soleil  (now  in 
the  Wallace  Collection  in  London),  and  promoted  his 
interests  and  those  of  his  fellow-artists  in  every  way. 

In  short,  almost  from  the  day  on  which  she  was 
installed  at  Versailles  as  maitresse  declaree  till  her  death 
in  1764,  the  influence  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  was 
paramount  in  all  matters,  from  politics  to  porcelain,  and 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  during  that  period,  it  was 
she,  rather  than  Louis  XV.,  who  was  the  real  ruler  of 
France  and  the  fountain  of  honour. 

For  a  woman  of  middle-class  origin,  the  daughter  of 
a  man  who  had  once  been  compelled  to  fly  the  country 
to  escape  being  broken  on  the  wheel,  to  attain  to  a  post 
which  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  the  peculiar  appa- 
nage of  the  nobility  was,  as  may  be  imagined,  no  easy 
task ;  to  retain  it  for  nineteen  years  was  one  which  taxed 


PREFACE 

her  resources  to  the  utmost.  Her  elevation,  indeed,  was 
the  signal  for  an  outburst  of  hostility  before  which  a  less 
resolute  woman  must  inevitably  have  succumbed.  She 
was  called  upon  to  face  the  enmity  of  the  Royal  Family, 
of  powerful  Ministers,  of  the  ladies  of  the  Court — most 
bitter  antagonists  of  all — of  the  Jesuits,  and  of  the 
rabble  of  Paris,  who,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  resented 
their  sovereign's  departure  from  the  custom  observed 
by  his  predecessors  almost  as  much  as  the  noblesse. 
But  never  for  a  moment  did  she  flinch.  With  an  un- 
rivalled skill,  which  compels  the  reluctant  admiration 
even  of  those  who  find  in  her  life  but  scant  cause 
for  eulogy,  she  contrived  to  make  herself  absolutely 
indispensable  to  the  happiness  of  her  royal  lover,  and 
that  accomplished,  proceeded  to  crush  her  enemies. 
One  by  one  they  were  met,  out-manoeuvred,  and  driven 
from  the  field  or  forced  to  sue  for  quarter  ;  and  though 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  notably  at  the  time  of 
Damiens's  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Louis  XV.,  her  fall 
seemed  inevitable,  the  only  result  of  the  machinations  of 
her  foes  was  to  leave  her  more  powerful  than  ever. 

She  died  at  the  early  age  of  forty-two,  worn  out  by 
the  storm  and  stress  of  a  life  which  she  once  described 
as  "  like  that  of  a  Christian,  a  perpetual  combat,"  a  prey 
to  wounded  vanity  and  disappointed  ambition.  Weary- 
ing of  the  petty  triumphs  of  Versailles,  she  had  sought 
to  associate  her  name  with  triumphs  of  another  kind,  and 
did  not  long  survive  the  humiliating  termination  of  the 
war  into  which  she  had  so  recklessly  dragged  her  country. 

Although,   of  course,   an   indispensable   figure    in    all 


PREFACE 

contemporary  memoirs,  Madame  de  Pompadour  has 
been  very  far  from  receiving  from  modern  writers  that 
amount  of  attention  which  one  would  naturally  expect ; 
and  it  is  not  a  little  surprising  to  find  that,  though  our 
language  contains  excellent  "  Lives "  of  Madame  de 
Maintenon  and  Madame  du  Barry,  no  attempt  should 
have  been  made  to  give  even  a  brief  outline  of  the  career 
of  their  more  celebrated  countrywoman. 

That  such  should  be  the  case  is  a  matter  for  regret, 
as,  since  the  admirable  monographs  of  Campardon  and 
the  brothers  De  Goncourt  are  known  to  comparatively 
few  English  readers,  the  popular  conception  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour  is  necessarily  derived  from  the  writings 
of  historians,  who,  while  unsparing  in  their  condemnation 
of  her  interference  in  affairs  of  State,  for  the  most  part 
entirely  ignore  the  beneficial  results  of  her  influence  in 
other  directions. 

To  supply  this  deficiency,  and  to  give  an  adequate, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  strictly  impartial,  account  of 
the  life  of  this  most  remarkable  v/oman,  has  been  my 
task  ;  and,  with  this  object  in  view,  my  researches  have 
covered  a  very  wide  field,  and  I  have  been  at  consider- 
able pains  to  check  the  statements  of  one  chronicler  by 
those  of  others  on  all  debatable  points.  Thus,  the 
reader  will  find  that  I  have  given  equal  prominence  to 
the  opinions  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  dQ.YOtQd  femme- 
de-chamhre^  Madame  du  Hausset,  and  to  those  of  her 
enemy,  d'Argenson  ;  to  the  Court  diarist,  the  Due  de 
Luynes,  and  to  the  recorder  of  Parisian  gossip,  Barbier ; 

to  the  spiteful  Richelieu  and  to  the  well-meaning  Bernis ; 

viii 


PREFACE 

seeking  neither  to  exonerate  nor  to  condemn,  neither  to 
praise  nor  to  blame,  but  only  to  arrive  at  the  truth. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  take  this  opportunity  of  ac- 
knowledging my  indebtedness  to  the  admirable  mono- 
graphs by  M.  Campardon  and  the  brothers  De  Goncourt, 
mentioned  above,  to  the  volumes  of  the  marchioness's 
correspondence  edited  respectively  by  M.  Malassis  and 
M.  Bonhomme,  to  M.  Le  Roi's  Curiosites  historiques^  to 
M.  Adolphe  Jullien's  Histoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  to  M.  Funck-Brentano's  Legendes  et  Archives 
de  la  Bastille,  and  to  the  interesting  essay  by  M.  Frederic 
Masson,  prefaced  to  his  edition  of  the  Memoires  et  Lettres 
du  Cardinal  de  Bernis. 

H.  NOEL  WILLIAMS. 
London,  August  1902. 


uc 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER      I 
II 
III 
IV 
V 
VI 
VII 
VIII 
IX 
X 
XI 
XII 
XIII 
XIV 
XV 
XVI 
XVII 
XVIII 
XIX 
XX 


Page 

I 

j> 

20 

3> 

29 

J> 

44 

J> 

63 

» 

84 

?J 

108 

55 

133 

55 

155 

55 

187 

55 

208 

225 
238 
257 
274 
308 
327 

344 
364 
391 


CHAPTER    I 

Louis  XV. 's  feeble  character  the  result  of  his  effeminate  educa- 
tion— His  marriage  with  Maria  Leczinska — Conspiracy  at 
Court  to  awaken  the  King — Louis's  intrigue  with  Madame  de 
Mailly — Amiable  character  of  this  lady — Rupture  between  the 
King  and  Queen  —  Madame  de  Mailly  becomes  maitresse 
dcclaree — Pauline  de  Nesle  endeavours  to  supplant  her  sister — 
Her  marriage  and  premature  death — Louis's  remorse — Madame 
de  Lauraguais — Madame  de  la  Tournelle — U affaire  d' Agdnois 
— Dismissal  of  Madame  de  Mailly — Who  seeks  consolation  in 
religion — Madame  de  la  Tournelle  becomes  maitresse  declaree — 
And  Duchesse  de  Chateauroux — Her  imperious  character — 
"We  must  have  the  resurrection  of  a  king  !  " — She  persuades 
Louis  to  take  command  of  the  army  in  Flanders — The  King 
falls  dangerously  ill  at  Metz — Grief  of  the  Parisians — Fitz- 
James,  Bishop  of  Soissons,  compels  Louis  to  dismiss  Madame  de 
Chateauroux — Flight  of  the  duchess  from  Metz — Fury  of  the 
populace  against  her — The  King  recovers — Frantic  rejoicings  in 
Paris — Louis  "  le  Bien-aime"— The  King  returns  to  France — 
His  interview  with  Madame  de  Chateauroux  in  the  Rue  du  Bac 
— Triumph  of  the  lady  over  her  enemies — Her  sudden  death. 

Louis  XV.,  endowed  with  a  handsome  face,  a  fine  pre- 
sence, and  so  many  apparent  good  qualities,  showed  him- 
self from  his  youth  the  most  feeble,  the  most  indolent, 
and  the  most  irresolute  of  kings.  A  sickly  child,  whose 
life  for  a  long  time  seemed  to  hang  by  a  thread,  he  was 
brought  up  with  the  most  extraordinary  care,  his  physi- 
cians declaring  that  it  was  imperative  that  he  should  be 
spared   every   kind  of  mental   exertion.      Old    Cardinal 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

de  Fleury,  to  whom  his  education  was  entrusted,  had 
carried  out  these  instructions  to  the  very  letter,  rigidly 
discountenancing  in  his  royal  pupil  everything  that 
savoured  of  originality,  of  independence,  or  of  ambition, 
with  the  inevitable  result  that  the  boy,  naturally  of  a 
selfish  and  indolent  temperament,  grew  up  destitute  alike 
of  energy,  of  self-reliance,  and  of  manly  dignity,  with  no 
thought  beyond  the  gratification  of  his  own  pleasure,  with 
no  desire  save  that  of  discharging  the  duties  of  sovereignty 
with  as  little  trouble  to  himself  as  was  possible  in  a 
country  where  the  monarch  was  still  the  actual  as  well 
as  the  nominal  ruler. 

If  Louis  had  received  a  less  effeminate  education  ;  if  he 
had  found  himself  in  a  position  which  would  have  obliged 
him  to  employ  with  some  degree  of  activity  the  faculties 
which  nature  had  bestowed  upon  him,  it  is  probable  that 
few  princes  of  his  time  would  have  deserved  better  of 
their  subjects,  for  he  had  a  quick  perception,  a  sound 
judgment,  a  wonderfully  retentive  memory,  and  a  kindly 
and  humane  disposition/  As  matters  stood,  his  ennui — a 
malady  from  which  most  of  his  house  suffered  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree — placed  him  at  the  mercy  of  any  worthless 
courtier  who  could  contrive  to  amuse  him,  and  his  idleness 
at  that  of  any  incompetent  Minister  who  was  willing  to 
relieve  him  of  responsibility.  Indeed,  such  amazing 
indifference  did  he  exhibit,  even  in  affairs  of  the  gravest 
importance,  that  he  would  agree  to  almost  anything  that 
was  proposed  to  him,  and  though  his  judgment  must 
have  frequently  condemned  the  measures  of  his  Ministers, 
he  never  seemed  able  to  summon  up  sufficient  resolution 
to  withhold  his  consent. 

^  Georges  Le  Roy's  Louis  XV.  et  Madame  de  Pompadour  pelnts 
etjuges,  p.  2. 

2 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

"  What  my  brother  ^  has  been  able  to  say  to  him," 
writes  Madame  de  Tencin  to  the  Due  de  Richelieu,  "  has 
been  useless  ;  one  might  as  well  talk  to  the  rocks.  I 
cannot  conceive  a  man  who  is  able  to  be  everything  and 
who  prefers  to  remain  a  cypher.  Any  one  but  yourself 
would  refuse  to  credit  the  length  to  which  matters  have 
gone.  He  pays  not  the  least  attention  to  what  is  passing 
in  his  kingdom  ;  nothing  seems  to  interest  him ;  in  the 
Council  he  shows  the  most  absolute  indifference  ;  he  signs 
everything  that  is  put  before  him.  In  truth,  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  such  a  person  is  enough  to  drive  one 
to  despair.  It  is  remarked  that  in  every  case  he  inclines 
to  the  course  which  promises  the  least  amount  of  trouble, 
and  that  is  generally  the  worst  one."  ^ 

When,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  Louis  was  married  to  Marie 
Leczinska,  the  daughter  of  Stanislas  Leczinska,  the  de- 
throned King  of  Poland,  the  courtiers  with  one  accord 
wagged  their  heads  and  predicted  that  the  young  monarch 
would  very  soon  weary  of  a  consort  who  was  seven  years 
his  senior,  and  who,  though  virtuous  and  amiable,  pos- 
sessed neither  beauty  nor  wit. 

For  a  time,  however,  it  certainly  seemed  as  if  these 
wiseacres  were  destined  to  prove  false  prophets.  The 
religious  principles  with  which  the  old  cardinal  had 
endeavoured  to  inculcate  the  King  had  produced  no 
impression  upon  the  mind  of  his  pupil  beyond  inspiring 
him  with  a  veneration  for  the  forms  and  ceremonies 
of  the  Church,  and  a  certain  morbid  dread  of  the 
consequences  of  sin,  which,  however,  was  in  a  great 
measure  removed  by  the  readiness  with  which  his 
accommodating   confessors  were   prepared  to  grant  him 

^  Cardinal  de  Tencin,  one  of  Louis  XV.'s  Ministers  of  State. 
2  Quoted  in  Sainte-Beuve's  Causerles  du  Lund'i,  ii.  382. 

3 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

absolution/  Nevertheless,  in  early  life,  they  served  as 
a  restraining  influence,  and  Louis  appears  to  have  been 
materially  faithful  to  the  Queen  for  some  years — a 
period  which  was  marked  by  the  birth  of  two  sons  and 
several  daughters. 

But  the  young  King  had  never  felt  any  real  tender- 
ness for  his  wife.  Fleury,  for  that  matter,  had  himself 
contributed  to  prejudice  him  against  her,  through  fear 
of  her  acquiring  an  influence  which  might  clash  with 
his  own ;  and,  as  time  went  on,  the  Queen's  natural 
coldness  of  temperament,  which  increased  with  age, 
her  excessive  and  often  inopportune  piety,  and,  above 
all,  her  entire  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  tastes  and 
pursuits  of  her  husband  began  slowly  but  surely  to 
alienate  his  affection. 

The  intriguing  and  dissolute  courtiers,  who  had  long 
sneered  at  what  they  were  pleased  to  call  the  King's 
"  bourgeois  life,"  watched  the  growing  estrangement 
between  the  royal  pair  with  unconcealed  delight.  There 
had  for  some  time  been  a  conspiracy  among  them, 
headed  by  that  most  scandalous  Lovelace  of  a  scandalous 
age,  the  Due  de  Richelieu,  to  awaken  the  King.  Louis 
was  at  first  encouraged  to  drink  a  great  deal  more  freely 
than  had  been  his  wont ;  to  the  taste  for  wine  was  joined 
the  excitement  of  high  play ;  then  came  some  passing 
gallantries ;  finally,  a  regular  liaison  was  established  with 
the  Comtesse  de  Mailly,  the  eldest  of  the  five  attractive 
daughters  of  the  Marquis  de  Nesle. 

This  lady,  though  she  had  no  pretensions  to  be  con- 
sidered a  beauty,  was  charming  and  accomplished,  and 
noted  for  her  exquisite  taste  in  dress,  which  her  rivals  in 

^  As  a  boy  he  confessed  in  writing  to  the  Jesuit  Lini^res,  and  the 
priest  was  forbidden  to  ask  him  any  questions. 

4 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

vain  attempted  to  imitate.  Moreover,  she  was  charitable, 
sweet-tempered,  and  entirely  unaffected,  qualities  which, 
in  the  eyes  of  all  but  the  most  rigid  moralists,  went  a 
long  way  towards  redeeming  her  lapse  from  the  path  of 
virtue.  Her  regard  for  Louis  appears  to  have  been  quite 
disinterested,  and,  so  far  from  desiring  to  enrich  herself 
at  her  lover's  expense,  it  was  only  with  difficulty  that 
she  could  be  persuaded  to  accept  the  presents  which  the 
King  made  her  from  time  to  time.^  She  never  attempted 
to  interfere  in  affairs  of  State ;  and,  indeed,  was  so  little 
in  Fleury's  way,  that  it  was  rumoured  that  the  cardinal, 
foreseeing  that  his  former  pupil  was  certain  sooner  or 
later  to  form  some  extra-conjugal  attachment,  had  him- 
self put  her  forward,  in  order  to  save  the  young  monarch 
from  falling  a  victim  to  some  greedy  or  ambitious 
woman. 

For  nearly  three  years  this  affair  continued  so  quietly 
as  to  attract  comparatively  little  attention  and  no  scandal, 
when  a  quarrel  between  the  King  and  Queen,  for  which 
the  latter's  characteristic  want  of  tact  seems  to  have  been 
chiefly  to  blame,  brought  about  the  open  rupture  so 
ardently  desired  by  the  intriguers  of  the  Court. 

The  story  goes  that  one  evening  Louis,  who  had  been 
indulging  rather  too  freely  in  his  favourite  beverage, 
champagne,  entered  his  wife's  apartments.  The  Queen, 
who  had  an  intense  horror  of  drunkenness,  reproached 
him  bitterly  with  his  condition  ;  declared  that  to  come 
near  her  in  such  a  state  was  an  intolerable  insult,  and 
finally,  requested  him  to  leave  the  room.  He  did  so, 
vowing,  however,  that  he  would  never  again  subject  him- 
self to  the  risk   of  such   treatment ;    and   he   kept   his 

^   Richelieu  says  that  Madame  de  Mailly  from  first  to  last  cost  Louis 
"  less  than  an  opera-girl  would  cost  a  banker." 

5 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

word.  A  few  days  later,  Madame  de  Mailly  was  openly 
acknowledged  as  the  King's  mistress.^ 

Facilis  descensus  Averni  I  Once  started  on  the  down- 
ward path  the  young  King's  progress  was  rapid  enough 
to  satisfy  the  most  profligate  of  his  courtiers.  Hitherto 
he  had  been  restrained  by  his  natural  timidity  and  his 
morbid  dread  of  eternal  punishment ;  but  to  all  delicacy 
of  heart,  ail  innate  sentiments  of  honour  he  was  an 
entire  stranger.  He  was  no  more  faithful  to  his  mistress 
than  to  his  wife.  Madame  de  Mailly  was,  as  we  have 
mentioned,  the  eldest  of  five  sisters,  all  of  whom  were 
distinguished  either  for  their  beauty  or  their  accomplish- 
ments. The  second  sister,  Pauline  by  name,  a  forward 
minx  still  in  her  teens,  was  being  educated  in  a  convent. 
In  1739  she  induced  Madame  de  Mailly  to  send  for  her 
to  come  to  Versailles,  where  she  arrived  with  the  fixed 
intention  of  supplanting  her  elder  sister  and  of  exercis- 
ing that  political  influence  to  which  the  gentle  favourite 
had  shown  herself  indifferent.  In  this,  however,  she  was 
only  partially  successful,  for,  though  she  contrived  to 
secure  a  share  of  Louis's  affections,  the  countess's  influ- 
ence was  as  yet  too  strong  to  be  altogether  overthrown  ; 
while  her  ambitious  projects  were  frustrated  by  the  astute 
Fleury,  who  defended  his  authority  and  his  coffers  with 
considerable  address.^ 

In  1 740  Mademoiselle  de  Nesle  became  enceinte^  where- 
upon the  King,  in  order  to  save  appearances,  arranged  a 
marriage  between  her  and  a  complaisant  nobleman,  the 
Marquis  de  Vintimille,  a  grand-nephew  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Paris,  that  venerable  prelate  blessing  the  nuptials 
without  the  least  scruple.     The  unhappy  girl  died  sud- 

■^   Vie  pr'tvee  de  Louts  XV.,  ii.  21. 

2  Martin's  Histoire  de  France  jusqu  en  1 7 89,  xv.  2o8. 

6 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

denly  a  few  months  later  after  giving  birth  to  a  son — the 
Comte  du  Luc — who  bore  such  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  King  that  in  after  years  he  received  the  sobriquet  of 
the  ^^  demi-Louis.'''' 

The  monarch,  who  imagined  that  he  saw  in  the  un- 
timely death  of  Madame  de  Vintimille  a  judgment  from 
Heaven  upon  his  sins,  was  plunged  in  the  deepest  melan- 
choly. "  The  King  is  in  the  most  terrible  grief,"  writes 
d'Argenson,  "  he  sobs,  he  chokes.  The  cardinal  (Fleury), 
who  did  not  dare  to  speak  to  him  at  first,  has  at  last 
preached  him  a  sermon  on  the  subject  of  human  weak- 
ness. It  was  very  badly  received."  By  way  of  pen- 
ance, Louis  now  returned  to  Madame  de  Mailly,  and 
remained  faithful  to  her  for  some  time,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  brief  interval,  during  which  he  succumbed 
to  the  charms  of  yet  another  member  of  the  same  family, 
the  Duchesse  de  Lauraguais. 

In  the  winter  of  1742,  however,  poor  Madame  de 
Mailly's  troubled  reign  came  to  an  end.  A  fourth 
sister,  the  young  widow  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Tournelle, 
appeared  upon  the  scene  and  at  once  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  susceptible  monarch.  The  lady, 
however,  at  first  rejected  the  royal  addresses.  She 
already  had  a  lover,  the  young  Due  d'Agenois  (after- 
wards the  Due  d'Aiguillon),  and  was  indisposed  to 
surrender  him  even  for  the  King,  Louis,  therefore, 
took  counsel  with  Richelieu,  who  was  d'Agenois's  uncle, 
but  was  anxious  to  bring  about  a  liaison  between  the 
King  and  Madame  de  la  Tournelle,  as  Madame  de 
Mailly  regarded  him  with  anything  but  a  friendly  eye. 
The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  that  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty  imitated  David  and  sent  his  rival  to 
fight  the  Austrians  in  Italy.     Here,  more  fortunate  than 

7 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUK 

the  husband  of  Bathsheba,  he  was  only  wounded,  and 
returned  covered  with  glory  and  more  interesting  in  the 
lady's  eyes  than  ever. 

Louis  was  in  despair,  but  Richelieu,  who  was  a  man 
of  resource,  was  not  one  to  lightly  accept  defeat.  He 
sent  his  nephew  to  Languedoc,  where  a  damsel  of  sur- 
passing beauty  had  been  instructed  to  lay  siege  to  his 
heart.  This  she  did  most  effectively ;  letters  of  a  very 
passionate  nature  were  exchanged  ;  the  lady  despatched 
those  which  she  received  to  Richelieu,  and  in  due 
course  they  were  brought  to  the  notice  of  Madame  de 
la  Tournelle,  who,  furious  at  her  lover's  perfidy,  pro- 
fessed herself  ready  to  listen  to  the  King. 

But  Madame  de  la  Tournelle,  who  was  by  far  the 
ablest  as  well  as  the  most  attractive  of  the  sisters  De 
Nesle,  unlike  Madame  de  Ventimille  and  Madame  de 
Lauraguais,  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  rest  content 
with  a  divided  empire  and  secret  favours.  She  insisted 
that  Madame  de  Mailly  should  be  dismissed  and  she 
herself  acknowledged  in  her  place.  Louis,  who  was 
already  wearying  of  the  tears  and  reproaches  of  the 
elder  sister,  meanly  consented ;  and  the  countess's  post 
of  dame  du  palais  to  the  Queen  was  taken  away  from 
her,  and   she  was  ordered  to  retire  from  Court. -^     Fol- 

1  Fleury  on  this  occasion  endeavoured  to  remonstrate  with  the  King, 
whereupon  Louis  curtly  informed  him  that  when  he  had  given  him 
control  of  his  affairs,  he  had  not  intended  to  include  that  of  his  person. 
Chronique  du  regne  de  Louts  XV.  in  Revue  retrospective,  v.  6i.  The 
same  chronicle  relates  (p.  72)  that  the  Jesuits,  having  observed  that  the 
King  about  this  time  had  ceased  to  communicate,  directed  his  confessor, 
Father  Lemeri,  to  urge  him  to  have  recourse  to  the  expedient  adopted 
by  Louis  XIV.  under  similar  circumstances  and  communicate  en  hlanc — 
that  is  to  say,  with  unconsecrated  wafers — in  order  to  save  appearances. 
Louis  listened  to  his  confessor's  arguments  without  making  any  remark; 

8 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

lowing  the  example  of  Mademoiselle  de  la  Valliere, 
she  sought  consolation  in  religion,  and,  under  the 
influence  of  Father  Renaud,  a  pupil  of  the  famous 
Massillon  and  himself  a  celebrated  preacher,  "  flung 
herself  into  a  great  and  estimable  devotion,"  with  the 
result  that  on  Holy  Thursday  in  the  following  year 
a  crowd  of  courtiers  flocked  to  Saint- Roch  to  witness 
the  ex-mistress  of  Louis  XV.,  assisted  by  the  young 
Duchesse  de  Tremouille,  wash  the  feet  of  twelve  beggars. 
Henceforth  until  her  death  Madame  de  Mailly  devoted 
her  whole  time  and  income  to  good  works,  reserving 
for  her  own  use  hardly  sufficient  to  procure  the  bare 
necessaries  of  life.^ 

Far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  dismissal  of  her 
sister  and  her  own  recognition,  Madame  de  la  Tournelle 
next  demanded  an  official  position  at  Court,  and  the 
title  of  duchess,  together  with  a  settled  income  sufficient 
to  enable  her  to  maintain  that  dignity  and  secure  her 
against    any   reverse    of  fortune.       All    these    demands 

but  when  he  had  concluded,  sternly  ordered  him  to  retire,  and  not  to 
approach  him  again  until  he  was  sent  for.  This  Father  Lemeri  was 
probably  the  same  priest  who,  a  few  years  earlier,  when  the  King  was 
believed  to  be  in  love  with  the  young  widow  of  the  Due  de  Bourgogne, 
promised  to  grant  him  absolution  if  he  would  dismiss  Madame  de  Mailly 
and  "  take  the  duchess  into  his  service,"  on  the  ground  that  as  the  latter 
was  a  widow,  "  the  sin  would  be  less  by  half." 

1  The  obvious  sincerity  of  Madame  de  Mailly's  conversion  and  her 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  charity  did  not  always  suffice  to  secure  her  immunity 
from  insult.  One  day,  coming  to  Saint- Roch  to  hear  Father  Renaud, 
after  the  preacher  had  already  ascended  the  pulpit,  it  occasioned  some 
little  disturbance  to  lead  her  to  the  churchwarden's  pew,  which  she 
usually  occupied,  whereupon  an  ill-conditioned  fellow  muttered,  loud 
enough  to  reach  her  ears  :  "  Here's  a  pretty  fuss  for  a  wanton !  " 
"  Since  you  know  her,  pray  to  God  for  her,"  was  the  gentle  answer. 
—  J^ie  privee  de  Louis  XV.,  ii.  lOO. 

9 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

were  promptly  granted  by  the  infatuated  monarch. 
Madame  de  la  Tournelle  was  appointed  dame  du  palais 
to  the  Queen ;  letters  patent  were  issued  creating  her 
Duchesse  de  Chiteauroux/  and  an  income  of  80,000 
livres  assured  to  her.  "  This  brilliant  and  audacious 
woman,  full  of  imperious  grace,"  says  Henri  Martin, 
"  inspired  Louis  for  the  first  time  with  something 
beyond  the  intoxication  of  the  senses.  She  had  that 
natural  loftiness  of  sentiment  that  sometimes  survives 
the  fall  of  moral  principle  in  energetic  minds.  Those 
of  his  Ministers  or  courtiers  who,  either  through  am- 
bitious or  patriotic  motives,  urged  him  to  vigorous 
resolution  had  no  more  zealous  or  efficient  ally."  ^ 

The  apathetic  monarch,  who  could  be  obstinate  enough 
when  it  was  a  question  of  displaying  the  least  degree  of 
activity,  held  out  as  long  as  he  could.  "  You  are  killing 
me,"  he  exclaimed  plaintively  one  day,  when  the  lady 
was  striving  to  arouse  in  him  some  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  his  position.  "  So  much  the  better,"  was  the 
reply;  "we  must  have  the  resurrection  of  a  king."^ 
She  did  resuscitate  him,  in  fact,  and  for  a  time  Louis 
seemed  quite  another  man.  After  Fleury's  death  in 
January  1743,  he  determined  to  take  the  reins  of 
government    into    his    own    hands ;    appointed    regular 

*  ^^  January  17,  1743. — The  Parliament  was  assembled  this  morn- 
ing to  register  letters  patent  conferring  the  duchy  of  Chateauroux  on 
Madame  de  la  Tournelle  and  heirs  male.  The  preamble  set  forth 
the  great  services  rendered  to  France  by  the  House  of  De  Nesle,  the 
personal  attachment  of  the  lady,  the  services  she  had  rendered  the 
Queen,  her  virtues,  rare  qualities  of  heart  and  mind.  The  Chamber 
Ustened  gravely  to  all  these  Jleurettes  told  by  the  monarch  about  his 
mistress." — Memoires  du  Marquis  d' Argenson. 

2  Martin's  Histotre  de  France,  jusqu' en  1789,  xv.  265. 

^  Sainte-Beuve's  Causeries  du  Lundi,  ii.  383. 

10 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

hours  for  his  Ministers  to  confer  with  him,  and  actu- 
ally tried  the  experiment  of  being  his  own  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  a  post  which  he  was  soon,  however, 
glad  to  relinquish  to  the  old  Due  de  Noailles,  who, 
though  he  was  not  wanting  in  energy,  was  as  irresolute 
as  his  master.  Finally,  the  duchess  succeeded  in  inspir- 
ing him  with  a  desire  for  military  glory ;  and  on  May 
3,  1744,  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  Louis 
left  Paris  to  take  the  nominal  command  of  the  army 
operating  in  Flanders,  followed,  after  a  discreet  interval, 
by  the  favourite  and  her  sister,  Madame  de  Lauraguais.'^ 
For  a  time  everything  went  merrily  as  marriage  bells. 
Courtrai,  Menin,  Ypres,  Furnes,  and  the  Fort  of  Kenoque 
opened  their  gates  in  quick  succession  to  the  invaders, 
old  Marshal  Wade,  the  English  commander  in  the 
Netherlands,  being  powerless  to  intervene,  owing  to  the 
non-arrival  of  the  promised  reinforcements  from  England. 
Then,  however,  news  was  brought  that  the  Austrians 
had  crossed  the  Rhine  and  were  overrunning  Alsace, 
and  Louis,  leaving  Marechal  Saxe  with  45,000  men  to 
secure  their  recent  conquests  and  hold  Wade  in  check, 
marched  southwards  with  the  remainder  of  the  army — 
and  Madame  de  Chateauroux — to  oppose  them.  He 
reached  Metz  on  August  4,  but  four  days  later  was 
taken  ill  with  a  malignant  fever,  the  result  of  the  fatigues 

^  "  To  avoid  scandal,  the  duchess  did  not  occupy  the  same  house  as 
the  King  in  the  different  towns  in  which  he  stayed;  but  secret  orders 
were  sent  to  all  the  municipal  bodies  to  prepare  a  residence  for  her  recep- 
tion adjoining  that  of  the  King,  and  to  open  free  communication  between 
them.  The  workmen  were  seen  piercing  the  walls,  and  every  one  knew 
for  what  purpose." — Vie privee  de  Louis  XV.,  ii.  138.  D'Argenson  tells  us 
that  two  hours  after  Madame  de  Chateauroux  arrived  at  Lille  the  barracks 
caught  fire,  an  accident  which  the  inhabitants,  who  were  superstitious, 
attributed  to  celestial  anger. 

II 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  the  campaign  and  high  living,  which  increased  so 
rapidly  that  on  the  twelfth  his  life  was  despaired  of. 

"  The  news  of  the  King's  danger,"  says  Voltaire, 
*'  reached  Paris  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  The  inhabi- 
tants rose  from  their  beds  and  ran  about  in  their  ex- 
citement, without  knowing  whither  they  went.  The 
churches  were  opened,  although  it  was  midnight ; 
nor  did  people  any  longer  pay  any  regard  to  the  hours 
of  sleeping,  waking,  or  taking  their  meals.  All  Paris 
seemed  to  have  gone  mad,  and  the  houses  of  persons 
of  condition  were  surrounded  by  crowds.  The  public 
squares  were  also  thronged  with  people,  who  all  kept 
crying  out :  *  If  he  dies  it  will  be  for  having  marched 
to  our  relief.'  Even  strangers  who  met  in  the  churches 
accosted  and  questioned  one  another  on  a  subject  in 
which  every  one  was  so  deeply  interested.  In  many 
churches  the  priests  who  read  prayers  for  the  King's 
recovery  were  forced  to  pause  through  emotion,  the 
people  responding  with  sobs  and  cries."  ^ 

Meanwhile  around  the  sick  bed  at  Metz  a  most 
unseemly  wrangle  was  going  on  between  Madame  de 
Chateauroux,  who,  since  the  beginning  of  her  lover's 
illness,  had  scarcely  quitted  his  side,  and  the  Due  de 
Richelieu  ^  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Due  de  Chartres 
and  Fitz-James,^  Bishop  of  Soissons,  on  the  other.  The 
austere    young    prelate,    supported    by    Chartres,    whose 

^  Voltaire's  Steele  de  Louis  XV.,  ch.  xii. 

2  Richelieu  had  lately  been  appointed  First  Gentleman  of  the  Bed- 
chamber to  the  King.  D'Angerville,  in  his  Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV., 
relates  that  an  enemy  of  the  duke's,  on  hearing  of  the  appointment,  ex- 
claimed, "  I  wish  you  joy,  Monsieur  le  Due,  you  have  at  last  become  a 
gentleman. ^^ 

^  He  was  the  son  of  the  famous  soldier,  James  Fitz-James,  Duke  of 
Berwick,  a  natural  son  of  James  II.  by  Arabella  Churchill,  a  lady  whom 

12 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

father,  the  Due  d'Orleans,  stood  next  to  the  Dauphin 
in  the  line  of  succession,  and  who  had  forced  his  way 
into  the  room,  in  spite  of  Richelieu's  efforts  to  prevent 
him,  imperiously  refused  to  grant  the  sick  man  the 
consolations  of  religion,  unless  he  would  first  consent 
to  the  dismissal  of  Madame  de  Chateauroux  and  after- 
wards repair  the  scandal  he  had  caused  by  a  confession, 
made  in  the  presence  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  and 
any  other  noblemen  who  cared  to  assist  at  so  edifying 
a  spectacle. 

Louis  at  first  demurred,  in  the  hope  that  his  Jesuit 
confessor.  Father  Perusseau,  might  prove  less  exacting ; 
but  the  latter  dared  not  openly  defy  his  ecclesiastical 
superior,  and  eventually  the  pusillanimous  monarch, 
stricken  with  religious  terrors,  complied  literally  with 
everything  that  the  bishop  demanded  of  him. 

Madame  de  Chateauroux,  seeing  the  day  going  against 
her,  withdrew  into  an  adjoining  room,  with  her  sister, 
the  Duchesse  de  Lauraguais,  and  Richelieu,  to  take 
counsel  as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue.  Presently 
the  door  was  flung  violently  open,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Soissons  appeared  on  the  threshold,  and,  "  in  a  voice 
of  thunder,"  cried  out,  "  Ladies,  the  King  commands 
you  to  leave  this  house  immediately." 

Madame  de  Chateauroux,  far  greater  in  her  disgrace 
than  she  had  ever  been  in  her  prosperity,  bowed  haughtily, 

the  Comte  de  Grammont  ungallantly  describes  in  his  Memoires  as  "  an 
ugly  bag  of  bones,"  and  was  born  at  Saint-Germain-en-Laye  in  1709. 
He  renounced  most  of  the  dignities  of  his  father  in  order  to  enter  the 
priesthood,  but,'  as  head  of  his  family,  retained  the  title  of  Due  de  Fitz- 
James.  In  1739  ^^  ^^^  made  Bishop  of  Soissons  and  Grand  Almoner 
to  the  King.  He  was  a  rigid  Jansenist  and  author  of  several  able  theo- 
logical works. 

13 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  then,  with  an  unmoved  countenance,  left  the  room 
and  the  palace,  followed  by  her  sister  and  Richelieu, 
who  admits  that,  for  once  in  his  life,  he  felt  "  a  trifle 
crestfallen."  He  soon,  however,  recovered  his  habitual 
sang-froid  and  advised  the  dismissed  favourite  not  to 
leave  Metz,  but  merely  to  retire  to  the  house  where 
she  was  staying  and  there  await  developments. 

But  they  had  reckoned  without  the  bishop.  Scarcely 
had  Madame  de  Chateauroux  reached  her  apartments, 
when  she  received  a  message  from  the  implacable  Fitz- 
James,  informing  her  that  "  he  had  sent  to  advise  the 
clergy  of  the  parish  not  to  allow  the  consecrated  Host 
to  leave  their  churches,  until  the  cause  of  so  much  scandal 
had  ceased  to  profane  the  palace  and  the  town."  This, 
of  course,  meant  nothing  less  than  that  the  bishop  had 
enlisted  on  the  side  of  morality  the  passions  of  the 
populace,  already  inflamed  against  the  favourite,  and, 
going  to  the  window,  she  saw  to  her  consternation  that 
a  threatening  crowd  was  beginning  to  gather  opposite 
the  house.  Such  being  the  case,  it  was  clearly  impossible 
for  her  to  remain  a  moment  longer  than  was  absolutely 
necessary ;  and,  accordingly,  Richelieu  having  induced 
Belle-Isle,  the  governor  of  Metz,  to  lend  her  a 
travelling-carriage  and  an  escort  of  musketeers,  she 
and  her  sister  started  for  Paris, 

Every  precaution  was  taken  to  avoid  recognition. 
The  armorial  bearings  were  removed  from  the  vehicle, 
the  windows  closed,  and  the  blinds  drawn  down,  while 
the  musketeers  discarded  their  uniforms  for  plain 
clothes.  But,  unfortunately,  the  ladies  were  seen  leav- 
ing the  house ;  and  all  through  the  streets  and  far  into 
the  country  the  carriage  was  followed  by  an  infuriated 
mob,  who  heaped  the  grossest  insults  upon  the  woman 

14 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  whom  the  monarch,  whose  peril  they  were  deploring, 
was  indebted  for  the  one  flash  of  manly  activity  he  had 
shown  throughout  his  worthless  reign.  In  almost  every 
village  through  which  they  passed  the  same  scenes  were 
enacted,  the  peasants  in  one  following  as  far  as  they  were 
able,  and  transferring  to  those  in  the  next  the  business 
of  cursing  and  reviling  her ;  indeed,  but  for  the  resolute 
attitude  of  the  soldiers  who  guarded  the  carriage,  both 
she  and  her  sister  must  inevitably  have  been  torn  to 
pieces.  At  last,  more  dead  than  alive,  she  reached 
Paris,  where,  fortunately  for  her,  the  people  were  too 
much  absorbed  in  their  own  grief  to  notice  the  disgraced 
favourite,  and  shut  herself  up  in  her  house  to  wait  for 
news  from  Metz. 

The  day  following  the  flight  of  Madame  de 
Chateauroux,  the  King's  physician-in-ordinary  declared 
that  the  case  was  hopeless,  and  extreme  unction  was, 
accordingly,  administered,  after  which  the  Bishop  of 
Soissons  stepped  forward  and  made  the  following  an- 
nouncement : — 

"Princes  of  the  blood  and  nobles  of  the  realm,  the 
King  charges  his  lordship,  the  Bishop  of  Metz,  and 
myself  to  assure  you,  on  his  behalf,  of  his  sincere 
penitence  for  the  scandal  which  he  has  caused  by 
living  as  he  has  done  with  Madame  de  Chateauroux, 
for  which  he  now  asks  pardon  of  God  and  man.  He 
is  informed  that  the  lady  is  now  some  leagues  from 
here,  and  he  commands  that  in  future  she  shall  remain 
at  a  distance  of  fifty  leagues  from  the  Court." 

"And  her  sister,  the  Duchesse  de  Lauraguais,  as 
well,"  murmured  the  sick  man,  raising  his  head  from 
the  pillow.^ 

1  Nouveaux  Memotres  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  iii.  191. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Next  morning  at  six  o'clock  the  princes  of  the  blood 
were  summoned  to  the  King's  bedside  to  take  part  in 
the  prayers  for  the  dying,  as  every  moment  was  expected 
to  be  his  last.  D'Argenson,  the  War  Minister,  had 
begun  to  put  his  papers  together,  and  the  Due  de 
Chartres  had  given  orders  for  his  carriage  to  be  in 
readiness  to  take  him  to  the  army,  when  word  was 
brought  that  a  retired  army-surgeon,  named  Moncer- 
veau,  who  had  formerly  served  in  the  Alsace  Regiment 
and  was  now  living  on  his  pension  at  Metz,  had  come 
to  ask  permission  to  examine  the  King.  His  request 
was  granted,  and,  after  a  brief  examination,  he  entreated 
to  be  allowed  to  administer  an  emetic,  which  he  de- 
clared that  he  had  tried  in  several  very  similar  cases, 
and  always  with  success. 

As  it  was  obvious  that  nothing  could  possibly  make 
Louis's  condition  more  desperate  than  it  already  was, 
he  was  permitted  to  have  his  way.  To  the  unbounded 
astonishment  of  every  one  present,  the  treatment  was 
attended  with  the  happiest  results,  and  in  a  few  days 
the  King  was  convalescent.-^ 

When  on  August  19th  it  was  known  that  Louis  was 
out  of  danger,  the  delight  of  the  Parisians  was  as  frantic 
as  their  grief  had  been  ;  in  fact,  says  a  contemporary 
writer,  "  the  city  for  many  hours  was  nothing  but  a  vast 
enclosure  full  of  madmen."^  The  courier  who  brought 
the  glad  tidings  was  embraced  and  almost  stifled  by 
the  people,  who  covered  his  horse  and  even  his  travel- 
stained  boots  with  kisses,  and  escorted  him  in  triumph 
through  the  streets,  which  resounded  with  cries  of 
"The  King  has  recovered."     There  was  not  a  company 

1  Nouveaux  Memolres  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  iii.  192. 

2  Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV.,  ii.  1 49. 

16 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  artisans  which  did  not  order  a  Te  Deum  to  be 
sung;  there  was  not  a  family,  however  poor,  which 
did  not  illuminate  its  windows.  A  street  poet,  one 
Vade  by  name,  the  ballad-monger  of  the  fishwomen, 
conceived  the  idea  of  naming  the  King  Louis  "  le 
Bien-aimeJ'  and  all  France  adopted  the  surname,  without 
troubling  about  its  origin.  The  Well-beloved  rendered 
himself  justice,  when  he  heard  of  the  transports  of 
joy  which  his  recovery  had  aroused,  by  his  astonished 
ejaculation,  "What  have  I  done  to  deserve  it?"  What 
indeed  !  ^ 

The  Queen  arrived  at  Metz  a  few  days  after  Mon- 
cerveau's  fortunate  experiment — the  poor  woman  had 
been  forced  to  borrow  the  money  she  required  for  the 
journey  from  Orry,  the  Comptroller-General,  for  Louis, 
while  denying  his  mistress  nothing,  habitually  stinted  his 
wife^ — and  a  most  edifying  reconciliation  took  place 
between  the  royal  pair,  the  King,  who,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned, had  a  rather  alarming  relapse  about  this  time, 
vowing  that  henceforth  she  alone  should  possess  his 
heart. 

But,  alas !  these  virtuous  resolutions  lasted  little 
longer  than  the  fear  of  death.  With  the  restoration 
of  health,  Louis's  vows  of  amendment,  like  those  of 
the  Devil  in  the  old  proverb,  were  speedily  forgotten. 
No  sooner  did  he  return  to  Versailles,  than  the  desire 
to  see  his  former  mistress  once  again  became  too  strong 
for  him  to  resist.     His  evil  genius,   Richelieu,  ever  at 

1  Voltaire's  Siecle  de  Louis  XF.,  ch.  xii. ;  Martin's  Histoire  de 
France^  xv.  272. 

^  During  one  whole  summer  the  Queen  was  forced  to  play  cards  with 
borrowed  money,  and  wrote  to  one  of  her  friends  that  "  the  most  innocent 
pleasures  were  beyond  her  reach." 

17  » 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

his  elbow,  arranged  a  secret  interview  between  him  and 
the  lady  at  the  latter's  house  in  the  Rue  du  Bac,  in 
which  the  duchess  speedily  reasserted  her  empire  over 
the  royal  heart  and  exacted  a  brilliant  reparation  for 
what  she  called  the  "  affront  of  Metz "  by  the  exile 
or  disgrace  of  the  Bishop  of  Soissons,  Father  Perusseau, 
the  Due  de  Bouillon,  the  Due  de  La  Rochefoucauld, 
and  several  other  ecclesiastics  and  courtiers  who  had 
shown  themselves  hostile  to  her  in  her  hour  of  trial, 
and  the  promise  of  the  post  of  Superintendent  of  the 
Household  of  the  Dauphiness  elect  (the  Dauphin  was 
betrothed  to  the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa,  and  the 
nuptials  were  to  be  celebrated  in  the  following  Feb- 
ruary), an  honour  invariably  reserved  for  a  lady  of  the 
most  unblemished  virtue.  She  had  planned  a  return 
to  Versailles  which  was  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  an 
entry  into  a  conquered  city,  but  she  was  fated  never 
again  to  behold  the  scene  of  her  former  triumphs.  The 
trials  and  humiliations  which  she  had  undergone  had 
proved  too  much  for  her  strength,  and  when  the 
Comte  de  Maurepas  ^  waited  upon  her  and  handed 
her  her  formal  recall  to  Court,  observing,  as  he 
did  so,  that  "  the  King  charged  him  to  inform  her 
that  he  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  manner 
in  which  she  was  treated  during  his  illness  at  Metz," 
the  shadow  of  death  was  already  upon  her.  Two  days 
later  she  died,  and  the  post  of  maitresse-en-titre  was  vacant. 

1  Maurepas  had  also  incurred  the  resentment  of  the  lady,  who  had 
endeavoured  to  persuade  the  King  to  banish  him.  This  Louis  refused 
to  do,  as  the  Minister's  wit  was  accustomed  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  the 
Council.  He  consented,  however,  to  entrust  him  with  the  letter  of 
recall,  a  commission  which  Madame  de  Chateauroux  knew  would  be 
most  distasteful  to  Maurepas. 

i8 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

As  soon  as  Louis's  first  burst  of  grief  was  over,  he 
became  the  mark  for  all  the  light  beauties  that  adorned 
the  Court.  But  the  Court  was  to  be  conquered  by 
the  city  :  it  was  a  '''■petite  bourgeoise^''  and  not  a  titled 
dame,  who  was  to  succeed  the  ill-fated  Duchesse  de 
Chateauroux. 


»9 


CHAPTER    II 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Poisson — Madame's  admirers — Birth 
of  Jeanne  Antoinette  Poisson — M.  Poisson  is  condemned  to 
the  wheel  and  flies  from  France — Antoinette's  education — 
Her  beauty  and  accomplishments — Her  marriage  with  M. 
Lenormant  d'Etioles — Her  house  becomes  a  rendezvous  for 
men  of  letters — Madame  de  Mailly's  enthusiasm  at  her  per- 
formance on  the  harpsichord — President  Henault's  opinion  of 
her — Her  success  as  an  amateur  actress — Her  enviable  position 
— Infamous  designs  of  her  mother — The  prophecy  of  Madame 
Lebon,  the  fortune-teller — "  Un  morceau  de  roi" — Madame 
d'Etoiles  resolved  to  become  the  mistress  of  Louis  XV. 

In  the  year  1721,  when  Louis  XV.,  then  a  little  boy 
of  eleven,  was  yawning  over  Horace  and  Virgil  and 
wondering  what  it  would  be  like  to  be  king  in  some- 
thing more  than  name  ;  when  the  corridors  of  the  Palais 
Royal  resounded  with  the  drunken  laughter  and  ribald 
jests  of  the  Regent  Orleans  and  his  roues ;  when  all 
Paris  was  bemoaning  the  loss  of  its  savings  and  execrat- 
ing the  Scotch  adventurer,  Law,  who  had  charmed  so 
much  money  out  of  its  pockets,  there  lived  in  the  Rue 
de  Clery,  in  the  parish  of  Saint-Eustache,  a  man  and 
his  wife  of  the  name  of  Poisson. 

Of  M.  Poisson,  who  occupied  a  responsible  position 
in  the  famous  banking  house  of  Paris  Brothers,  at  that 
time  engaged  in  the  task  of  evolving  order  out  of  the 
financial  chaos  into  which    the   Mississippi   speculations 

20 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

had  plunged  the  country,  we  know  comparatively  little, 
which  is,  perhaps,  not  altogether  a  matter  for  regret, 
since  from  all  account,  he  would  appear  to  have  been 
a  singularly  undesirable  acquaintance.  He  was  a  tall, 
burly,  loud-voiced,  coarse-natured  man,  with  a  weakness 
for  the  vintages  of  Burgundy  and  Champagne,  and 
absolutely  untrammelled  by  any  moral  scruple.  His 
wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  one  Jean  de  la  Motte, 
contractor  for  the  supply  of  provisions  to  the  Hotel 
des  Invalides,  was  a  lady  of  very  considerable  personal 
attractions,  but  of  medium  virtue.  She  had  had,  so 
ran  the  gossip  of  the  day,  relations  which  were  rather 
more  than  friendly  with  Le  Blanc,  the  Minister  for 
War,  "  an  Ambassador  " — contemporary  chroniclers  have 
decided  to  withhold  his  name — and  a  M.  Lenormant 
de  Tournehem,  a  rich  farmer-general,^  and  when  on 
December  29,  1721,  she  gave  birth  to  a  daughter, 
it  was  to  this  last-named  gentleman  that  the  child's 
paternity  was  universally  ascribed.^ 

When  Jeanne  Antoinette — for  so  the  little  girl  was 
baptized — was  about  five  years  old,  some  rather  serious 
defalcations  were  discovered  in  the  accounts  of  Paris 
Brothers,  and,  about  the  same  time,  M.  Poisson  suddenly 
came    to    the    conclusion    that    the    air    of  the    French 

The  farmers-general  (^fermiers-generaux'j  were  a  privileged  association 
who  farmed  or  leased  the  public  revenues.  This  system  of  collecting 
the  taxes  was  inaugurated  by  Francis  I.,  who  in  1546  farmed  out  the 
gabelle  or  salt-tax.  The  powers  of  these  functionaries  were  very  strictly 
defined  by  law,  but  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  abuses 
of  the  most  flagrant  description  appear  to  have  crept  into  the  system,  and 
the  farmers-general  by  their  arrogance  and  exactions  rendered  themselves 
so  odious  to  all  classes  of  the  people  that,  when  the  Revolution  broke 
out,  very  few  of  them  escaped  the  guillotine. 
^  Journal  de  Barbier,  iv.  3  2 . 

21 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

capital  no  longer  suited  his  health,  and,  accordingly, 
departed  on  a  course  of  foreign  travel,  thereby  avoiding 
the  necessity  of  assisting  at  an  interesting  little  matinde 
on  the  Place  de  Greve  in  which  he  had  been  cast  for 
the  principal  role. 

M.  Poisson  remained  in  exile  for  more  than  fifteen 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  period,  *'  thanks  to  the  tears 
and  smiles  of  a  daughter  whom  no  one  could  refuse, 
and  of  a  wife  who  could  refuse  no  one," — as  the  cynical 
Ducde  Richelieu  expresses  it — the  sentence  passed  upon 
him  was  reversed,  and  he  was  permitted  to  return  to 
Paris. 

Madame  Poisson  and  her  children — a  son,  the  future 
Marquis  de  Marigny,  had  been  born  just  before  M. 
Poisson  set  out  upon  his  travels — do  not  appear  to 
have  suffered  any  inconvenience  from  the  absence  of 
the  head  of  the  family,  as  M.  de  Tournehem,  who 
was  as  generous  as  he  was  wealthy,  provided  for  their 
wants  and  charged  himself  with  the  entire  cost  of 
Antoinette's  education. 

This  was  conducted  on  a  most  liberal  scale.  The 
services  of  the  very  best  masters  that  m.oney  could 
procure  were  engaged :  the  celebrated  Jeliotte  taught 
her  singing  and  the  harp,  Guibaudet  dancing,  the  elder 
Crebillon  and  Lanoue  elocution.  Never  had  masters  a 
more  apt  pupil.  At  eighteen  Mademoiselle  Poisson 
bade  fair  to  be  one  of  the  most  accomplished  women  of 
her  time.  No  young  girl  in  Paris  could  dance,  or  draw, 
or  play,  or  sing  like  her ;  no  one  had  such  a  perfect 
seat  on  horseback,  such  exquisite  taste  in  dress,  such  a 
pretty  wit.  With  these  varied  accomplishments  was 
combined  beauty  of  no  ordinary  kind.  "  She  was,"  says 
Diderot's    friend,   Georges   Le   Roy,   "rather  above  the 

22 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

middle  height,  slender,  supple,  and  graceful.  Her  hair 
was  luxuriant,  of  a  light  chestnut  shade  rather  than  fair, 
and  the  eyebrows  which  crowned  her  magnificent  eyes 
were  of  the  same  hue.  She  had  a  perfectly-formed  nose, 
a  charming  mouth,  lovely  teeth,  and  a  ravishing  smile, 
while  the  most  exquisite  skin  one  could  wish  to  behold 
put  the  finishing  touch  to  all  her  beauty.  Her  eyes  had 
a  singular  fascination,  which  they  owed  perhaps  to  the 
uncertainty  of  their  colour.  They  possessed  neither 
the  dazzling  splendour  of  black  eyes,  the  tender  languor 
of  blue,  nor  yet  the  peculiar  keenness  of  grey :  their 
undecided  colour  seemed  to  lend  to  them  every  kind 
of  charm,  and  to  express  in  turn  all  the  feelings  of  an 
intensely  mobile  nature."  ^ 

When  Antoinette  was  in  her  twentieth  year,  a  suitor 
for  her  hand  presented  himself  in  the  person  of  the 
farmer-general's  nephew,  M.  Lenormant  d'Etioles.^  M. 
d'Etioles  was  hardly  the  kind  of  lover  to  appeal  to 
the  fancy  of  a  beautiful  young  girl,  being  undersized, 
plain,  and  red-haired.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  amply 
endowed  with  this  world's  goods,  was  a  well-meaning 
youth,  and  very  genuinely  in  love.  Madame  Poisson, 
for  reasons  which  we  shall  presently  relate,  was  very 
anxious  for  the  match  ;  M.  Poisson,  but  lately  returned 
from  exile  and  seeing  in  his  prospective  son-in-law's 
wealth  a  chance  of  replenishing  his  wine-cellar,  was 
graciously  pleased  to  signify  his  approval ;  Antoinette, 
like    a    dutiful    daughter,    raised   no    objection.     There 

^  Georges  Le  Roy's  Louis  XV.  et  Madame  de  Pompadour  peints  et 
juges,  p.  25. 

2  D'Etioles  was  the  name  of  an  estate  belonging  to  the  Lenormants. 
It  was  the  custom  among  the  wealthy  bourgeoisie  to  distinguish  each  of 
their  sons  by  the  name  of  an  estate. 

23 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

remained,  therefore,  only  M.  Lenormant  pere  to  be 
consulted,  and  his  reply  was  an  abrupt  refusal.  Made- 
moiselle Poisson,  he  was  quite  ready  to  admit,  was 
everything  that  was  charming,  but  her  parents  —  a 
father  who  had  only  escaped  the  wheel  by  prompt 
flight,  and  a  mother  whose  gallantry  was  proverbial — 
were  not  persons  with  whom  he  desired  to  be  connected. 
Besides,  the  lady  had  no  fortune,  an  even  more  fatal  dis- 
advantage in  the  eyes  of  a  self-respecting  French  citizen 
than  any  amount  of  parental  delinquencies.  No ;  his 
son  must  look  elsewhere  for  a  wife. 

At  this  stage  of  the  affair  M,  de  Tournehem  inter- 
posed with  a  very  handsome  offer.  If  his  brother 
would  waive  his  objections  to  the  match,  he  would 
settle  half  his  fortune  on  the  young  couple,  and  at 
his  death  they  should  inherit  the  remainder.  There- 
upon M.  Lenormant  agreed  to  reconsider  the  matter, 
and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  having  very  wisely 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  M.  Poisson  was  a  very 
ill-used  man  and  his  consort  a  much  maligned  lady, 
gave  his  consent,  and  on  March  9,  1741,  Antoinette 
Poisson  became  Madame  Lenormant  d'Etioles. 

M.  d'Etioles  hastened  to  surround  his  beautiful  young 
wife  with  every  imaginable  luxury.  She  had  a  town 
house  in  Paris,  Rue  Croix  des  Petits  Champs,  and  a 
country  seat  at  Etioles,  situated  on  the  borders  of  the 
forest  of  Senart,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Seine,  and 
close  to  the  royal  chateau  of  Choisy,  where  she  dis- 
pensed princely  hospitality  to  all  the  leading  people 
in  the  commercial  world  of  Paris,  together  with  a 
sprinkling  of  courtiers  and  foreign  diplomats,  and  many 
of  the  most  famous  literary  men  of  the  day.  Her 
house,  indeed,  soon   became  celebrated  as  a  rendezvous 

24 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

for  wits  and  men  of  letters.  Here  might  be  found 
Voltaire  and — the  object  in  later  years  of  the  great 
writer's  most  biting  satire — Maupertuis  ;  the  evergreen 
Fontenelle,  the  last  remaining  link  between  the  age 
of  Moiiere  and  Boileau  and  that  of  Voltaire  and 
Diderot ;  Montesquieu,  the  author  of  Les  Lettres 
Persanes  and  H Esprit  des  Lois;  the  two  Crebillons  and 
Cahusac,  the  dramatist. 

Nor  was  it  long  before  the  fame  of  Madame 
d'Etioles's  beauty  and  talents  began  to  penetrate  into 
more  exclusive  circles.  One  day,  at  the  house  of 
Madame  d'Angervilliers,  Madame  de  Mailly,  the  then 
owner  —  or  part  owner — of  the  heart  of  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty,  was  so  carried  away  by  Antoinette's 
exquisite  rendering  of  a  difficult  piece  upon  the  harpsi- 
chord, that,  in  a  transport  of  delight,  she  threw  herself 
into  the  player's  arms  and  carried  her  enthusiasm  to  the 
Court,  who  then  heard  for  the  first  time  the  name  of 
the  woman  who  was  soon  to  be  its  ruler. 

The  Queen's  confidant,  too.  President  Henault,  "that 
well-frilled,  accurately-powdered,  most  correct  old  legal 
gentleman  " — as  Carlyle  calls  him — met  her  at  a  supper- 
party,  and,  the  next  day,  we  find  him  writing  to  his 
friend,  Madame  du  Deffand,  as  follows  : — 

"I  met  there  (at  M.  de  Ponteveyle's)  one  of  the 
prettiest  women  I  have  ever  seen — Madame  d'Etioles. 
She  is  a  perfect  musician,  sings  divinely,  knows  a 
hundred  songs,  and  acts  comedy  at  Ktioles  in  a 
theatre  as  charming  as  the  Opera."  ^ 

This  theatre  was  one  that  had  been  built  for 
Antoinette's  amusement  by  her  uncle,  M.  de  Tour- 
nehem,  and  there  she  scored   several   notable   successes, 

^   Memoir es  du  Due  de  Luynes,  vi.  354. 
25 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

for  she  was  a  born  actress.  On  one  occasion,  when 
she  was  taking  part  in  some  private  theatricals  at  her 
friend,  Madame  de  Villemur's,  at  Chantemerle,  the 
Due  de  Richelieu,  the  Due  de  Nivernois,  and  the 
Due  de  Duras  came  over  from  Versailles  on  purpose 
to  witness  her  performance,  and  returned  to  the  Court 
full  of  her  praises. 

To  all  appearance,  Madame  d'Etioles*s  lot  was  now 
an  enviable  one.  She  was  young,  beautiful,  rich,  and 
admired.  She  had  a  husband  who  worshipped  her, 
and  who,  at  the  same  time,  had  the  good  taste  not  to 
be  jealous.  Moreover,  she  had  a  charming  little 
daughter,  Alexandrine,  of  whom  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  later  on.-^  An  ordinary  woman  would 
have  found  little  enough  cause  to  feel  dissatisfied,  but 
Madame  d'Etioles  was  not  an  ordinary  woman.  With 
her,  marriage  had  been  but  the  first  step  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  a  long-cherished  ambition — an  am- 
bition which  had  dazzled  her  imagination  as  a  child, 
filled  her  dreams  as  a  young  girl,  and  now  that  she 
had  attained  to  womanhood,  had  become  the  one 
object  of  her  life.  This  was  nothing  less  than  the 
conquest  of  the  heart  of  Louis  XV. 

It  is  only  fair  to  Madame  d'Etioles  to  observe  that  this 
idea  did  not  originate  with  her,  but  with  the  shameless 
woman  who  had  given  her  birth.  From  the  very  moment 
that  Madame  Poisson  recognised  that  Antoinette  had 
inherited  her  own  fatal  gift  of  beauty,  she  appears  to 
have  conceived  the  infamous  design  of  speculating  in  her 
daughter's  charms.  One  day,  when  the  child  was  nine 
years  old,  the  mother  took  her  to  the  house  of  a  certain 
Madame  Lebon,  a  fortune-teller,  who,  no  doubt,  already 

1  She  had  another  child — a  boy^ — who,  however,  died  in  infancy. 

26 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

instructed  as  to  what  she  was  to  say,  predicted  that 
Antoinette  would  one  day  become  the  mistress  of  a  king. 
The  woman's  words  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  little 
girl,  an  impression  which  Madame  Poisson  took  care 
should  not  be  effaced.  Thenceforth  she  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity of  reminding  her  that  she  was  "  un  morceau  de  rot  "; 
that  so  much  beauty  and  so  many  accomplishments  would 
assuredly  be  wasted  on  any  but  a  royal  lover,  and  that  it 
behoved  her,  therefore,  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  that 
might  assist  her  to  a  position  which  she  seemed  so 
eminently  fitted  to  adorn,  and  which  would  make  her  at 
once  the  admiration  and  envy  of  all  her  sex. 

The  poison  thus  artfully  instilled  into  the  poor  child's 
mind  soon  began  to  do  its  deadly  work,  for  in  the  gay  and 
godless  society  which  surrounded  the  mother  there  was 
but  small  chance  of  any  one  attempting  to  administer 
an  antidote  ;  and  so  Antoinette  came  to  regard  the  post 
of  maztresse-en-titre  as  the  perfectly  legitimate  ideal  of 
feminine  ambition. 

Both  mother  and  daughter  were  fully  aware  that  there 
were  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  success  of  their 
scheme.  The  kings  of  France  did  not  choose  their 
favourites  from  the  ranks  of  the  bourgeoisie^  but  from 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  nobility ;  and  if  now 
and  again  a  monarch  condescended  to  one  of  his  humbler 
subjects,  it  was  merely  to  gratify  a  passing  fancy  and 
hardly  likely  to  benefit  either  the  object  of  his  attentions 
or  her  relatives  to  any  great  extent.  Again,  as  long  as 
Antoinette  remained  unmarried,  their  task  was  a  well-nigh 
hopeless  one ;  and  it  was  the  knowledge  of  this  fact  that 
had  made  Madame  Poisson  so  ready  to  welcome  young 
d'Etioles  as  a  son-in-law  ;  for  when  once  the  girl  became 
Madame  d'Etioles,  and,  in  virtue  of  her  husband's  position, 

27 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

had  the  entree  to  the  salons  of  the  richest  financiers  in 
Paris  ;  when  she  was  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful women  of  the  capital ;  when  even  the  Court  began  to 
sing  her  praises,  the  fond  mother  would  be  justified  in 
hoping  that  ere  long  the  fame  of  her  beauty  and  accom- 
plishments would  reach  the  ears  of  the  King,  and,  his 
interest  aroused,  the  rest  would  be  comparatively  easy. 
There  would  still,  of  course,  be  many  difficulties  to  be 
overcome,  but  it  would  be  Antoinette's  own  fault  if  she 
did  not  succeed  in  surmounting  them. 


28 


CHAPTER   III 

Madame  d'Etioles  opens  her  campaign — The  fair  charioteer  of 
the  Forest  of  Senart  —  Madame  de  Chateauroux  becomes 
alarmed  —  And  adopts  precautionary  measures  —  Death  of 
Madame  de  Chateauroux — Madame  d'Etioles  again  takes  the 
field — Her  allies — Madame  de  Tencin — Binet,  the  valet~de- 
chambre  —  Marriage  of  the  Dauphin  and  the  Infanta  Maria 
Theresa — Rejoicings  in  Paris — The  ball  at  the  Hotel  de 
Ville — Madame  d'Etioles  and  Louis  XV. — Binet  says  a  word 
in  season — First  visit  of  Madame  d'Etioles  to  Versailles — 
Suspense. 

The  Chateau  d'Etioles  was,  as  we  have  mentioned, 
situated  on  the  confines  of  the  Forest  of  Senart,  which 
was  Louis  XV.'s  favourite  hunting-ground,  as  it  was 
within  easy  distance  of  the  royal  chateau  of  Choisy  and 
abounded  both  in  large  and  small  game.  It  was  thus 
admirably  adapted  as  a  base  for  Madame  d'Etioles's 
operations. 

Now,  in  the  course  of  the  winter  of  1743-44,  it  began 
to  be  remarked  that  almost  every  day  the  King  went 
hunting  there  followed  the  chase  a  phaeton,  drawn  by  a 
pair  of  magnificent  brown  horses  and  driven  by  a  lady 
coquettishly  attired,  sometimes  in  azure,  sometimes  in 
pink.  The  frequent  appearance  of  this  lady,  her  beauty, 
her  effective  costumes,  and  the  skill  with  which  she 
managed  her  mettlesome  steeds  soon  aroused  no  small 
amount  of  curiosity,  and,  finally,  attracted  the  notice  of 

29 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  King.  Louis,  however,  was  at  this  time  completely 
under  the  domination  of  Madame  de  Chateauroux,  and, 
therefore,  contented  himself  with  inquiring  the  name  of 
the  fair  charioteer,  when  he  was  informed  that  she  was 
a  Madame  d'Etioles,  the  wife  of  a  rich  sous-fermier  whose 
chateau  was  on  the  borders  of  the  forest. 

If  Louis  XV.,  absorbed  in  his  passion  for  another 
woman,  evinced  no  desire  to  make  Madame  d'Etioles's 
acquaintance,  the  object  of  his  regard  was  very  far  from 
sharing  her  royal  lover's  indifference  to  the  manoeuvres  of 
the  lady  in  question.  One  evening  at  Choisy  when  the 
Duchesse  de  Chevreuse  happened  to  praise  the  beauty  of 
"  la  petite  d'Etioles  "  in  the  hearing  of  the  King,  Madame 
de  Chateauroux  glided  softly  up  to  her,  and,  with  her 
heel,  stamped  so  furiously  upon  the  duchess's  foot,  that 
the  poor  lady,  who,  we  are  told,  suffered  from  corns, 
swooned  with  the  pain.^  Nor  was  this  all,  for,  a  few  days 
later,  Madame  d'Etioles  received  an  intimation  from  an 
official  quarter  that  her  presence  at  the  King's  hunting- 
parties  would  no  longer  be  tolerated. 

This  was,  of  course,  a  serious  check  to  Antoinette's 
plans,  but  Madame  de  Chateauroux  was  then  in  the 
zenith  of  her  power,  and  her  wishes,  accordingly,  were  not 
to  be  lightly  disregarded.  So  the  phaeton  and  its  fair 
occupant  ceased  to  be  a  feature  of  the  royal  hunting- 
parties,  and  the  favourite  breathed  freely  once  more. 

The  death  of  the  imperious  Chateauroux,  however, 
which  occurred  a  few  months  later,  revived  in  Madame 
d'Etioles's  bosom  the  hopes  which  the  prohibition  of  her 
forest  drives  had  momentarily  shattered ;  and  she  recom- 
menced her  campaign  with  redoubled  vigour.  She  had, 
moreover,  in  the  interval,  managed  to  secure  two  most 

^   Memoires  du  Due  de  Richelieuy  vii.  g. 
30 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

valuable  allies.  One  of  these  was  that  indefatigable  in- 
triguer, Madame  de  Tencin/  the  sister  of  Cardinal  de 
Tencin,  one  of  Louis  XV. 's  Ministers  of  State,  who  had 
derived  considerable  benefit  from  her  association  with  the 
deceased  favourite,  and  was  now  anxious  to  ingratiate 
herself  with  any  one  whom  she  judged  likely  to  replace 
her.  The  other  ally  was  a  relative  of  her  own,  named 
Binet,  who  filled  the  post  of  first  valet-de-chamhre  to  the 
Dauphin,  and  was  in  the  confidence  of  the  King.  While 
Madame  de  Tencin  constituted  herself  councillor-in-chief 
to  Madame  d'Etioles,  a  post  for  which  her  own  wide 
experience   in  affairs    of   the   heart — she   had   numbered 

^  Claude  Alexandrine  Gudrin  de  Tencin  was  born  at  Grenoble  in 
1 68 1,  and  began  life  as  a  nun  at  the  Augustin  convent  of  Montfleury,  near 
that  city.  Finding  the  restraints  of  a  religious  life  intolerable,  she  renounced 
them,  and  in  1 7 1 4  came  to  Paris,  where  her  wit  and  beauty  soon  drew  around 
her  a  crowd  of  admirers.  By  one  of  these,  a  certain  Chevalier  Destouches, 
she  had  a  son,  whom  the  day  after  his  birth  was  deposited  on  the  steps 
of  St.  Jean-le-Rond,  where  he  was  found  and  adopted  by  a  kind-hearted 
glazier,  the  father  afterwards  making  him  a  small  allowance,  but  without 
acknowledging  the  paternity.  This  child  was  d'Alembert,  the  Encyclo- 
paedist. During  the  Regency  Madame  de  Tencin,  through  her  connection 
with  Orleans  and  Dubois,  exercised  considerable  influence,  but  her  poli- 
tical power  expired  with  them.  In  1726  one  of  her  lovers,  named  La 
Fresnaye,  committed  suicide  at  her  house,  owing  apparently  to  the  shock 
of  discovering  that  he  did  not  possess  a  monopoly  of  her  favours,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  she  lay  for  some  time  in  the  Bastille.  Her  later  life 
was  more  reputable,  and  her  salon,  which  numbered  among  its  frequenters 
Fontenelle,  Montesquieu,  Helvetius,  Bernis,  Marivaux,  and  other  well- 
known  men  of  letters,  whom  she  familiarly  termed  "her  beasts,"  became 
the  most  brilliant  literary  resort  in  Paris.  She  herself  was  the  authoress 
of  several  romances,  the  best  known  of  which  is  Les  Memoir es  du  Comtede 
Commlngesy  and  one  of  the  most  witty  women  of  her  time.  Perhaps  the 
best  trait  in  her  character — some  say  it  was  the  worst — was  her  affection 
for  her  brother  the  cardinal,  "  the  promotion  of  whose  interests,"  says 
Duclos,  "  was  at  the  root  of  all  her  intrigues." 

31 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

among  her  lovers  such  notable  personages  as  the  Regent 
Orleans,  d'Argenson,  the  originator  of  the  secret  police, 
Fontenelle,  Cardinal  Dubois,  and  Lord  Bolingbroke — 
gave  her  an  indisputable"  title,  Binet  kept  watch  and  ward 
over  the  King,  waiting  for  a  favourable  opportunity  to 
push  the  claims  of  his  young  kinswoman,  and,  in  the 
meanwhile,  checkmating  as  far  as  he  could  the  machina- 
tions of  the  ladies  of  the  Court. 

It  was  the  occasion  of  the  public  rejoicings  which 
followed  the  marriage  of  the  young  Dauphin  to  the 
Infanta  Maria  Theresa  that  furnished  Madame  d'Etioles 
with  the  opportunity  for  which  she  had  been  so  patiently 
waiting.  This  union,  which  took  place  at  the  end  of 
February  1745,  and  was  intended  to  serve  the  twofold 
purpose  of  providing  the  heir  to  the  French  throne  with 
a  consort  who,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  the  means  of 
keeping  the  succession  in  the  direct  line,  as  the  Dauphin 
was  Louis  XV. 's  only  son,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of 
making  reparation  to  Spain  for  the  affront  offered  her  by 
the  King  of  France's  rejection  of  the  hand  of  the  bride's 
elder  sister  in  1725,  was  hailed  with  great  satisfaction  in 
both  countries.  The  Duke  de  Luynes  in  his  Memoires 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  nuptial  ceremony, 
which  was  celebrated  with  the  utmost  pomp  and  magni- 
ficence : — 

"  The  Dauphiness  ^  left  Sceaux  yesterday  morning  and 
arrived  here  (Versailles)  at  ten  o'clock,  or  half-past  ten. 
She  alighted  at  the  Marble  Staircase,  and  passed  at  once 
to  her  apartments.  The  King  and  Queen  went  immedi- 
ately to  visit  her,  and  she  made  her  appearance  as  soon  as 
her  toilette  was  completed.      It  was  nearly  one  o'clock 

^  She   had  been   married  by  proxy  at  Madrid  before  setting   out  for 
France. 

3« 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

before  her  coiffure  was  finished  and  she  was  fully  dressed. 
I  have  not  yet  spoken  of  her  appearance ;  she  is  neither 
tall  nor  short,  but  is  well  made  and  has  a  distinguished 
air.  She  is  very  pale  ^  and  extremely  fair,  including  her 
eyebrows  and  eyelids.  Her  eyes  are  bright.  What  spoils 
her  is  her  nose,  which  is  large  and  not  at  all  pleasing. 
All  who  know  her  say  that  she  is  intelligent,  and  very 
anxious  to  make  a  good  impression. 

"  It  was  about  an  hour  after  noon  when  the  Dauphiness 
was  ready :  she  was  attired  in  silver  brocade  covered  with 
pearls.  The  Dauphin,  who  gave  her  his  hand,  wore  a 
suit  and  cloak  of  cloth-of-gold  studded  with  diamonds. 
Immediately  afterwards  the  Queen  started  for  the  King's 
apartments,  the  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness  preceding  her. 
She  was  followed  by  Mesdames  (her  daughters),  the  six 
princesses  of  the  blood,  and  Madame  de  Penthievre.  The 
coup  cTceil  of  the  gallery  was  magnificent.  There  were  no 
raised  seats,  but  only  benches,  ranged  on  either  side,  so  as 
to  allow  of  a  free  passage  between  them,  behind  which 
stood  the  open-mouthed  spectators  who  had  been  admitted 
by  ticket.  .  .  . 

"  The  King  came  from  his  apartments  by  way  of  the 
CEil-du-Boeuf,^  preceded  by  the  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness, 
and  followed  by  all  the  princes  in  order  of  precedence. 

^  "  It  is  said  that  the  Duchesse  de  Brancas,  her  dame  d^honneur,  wished 
her  to  rouge  herself,  such  being  the  custom  in  France,  and  because  it 
would  become  her.  She  replied  that  if  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  the 
Dauphin  ordered  her  to  employ  rouge,  she  would  do  so,  but  not  other- 
wise."— Journal  de  Barb'ter,  iv.  14.  The  quantity  of  rouge  used  at  this 
period  in  France  was  enormous.  Taine  tells  us  that  even  little  girls  of 
six  were  rouged. 

2  The  (Eil-du-Bauf,  so  called  from  its  oval-shaped  window,  was  the 
inner  of  the  two  ante-chambers  leading  to  the  King's  apartments.  It 
contained  some  magnificent  paintings. 

33  c 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

The  care  which  had  been  taken  to  erect  barriers  every- 
where, with  a  garde-du-coi-ps  stationed  before  each,  in 
addition  to  the  Hundred  Swiss  Guards,  kept  the  way 
clear,  in  spite  of  the  immense  concourse  of  people.  The 
governor  of  the  palace  had  allotted  the  places  on  the 
staircase,  which  were  all  filled  and  presented  a  fine  sight. 
The  spectacle  in  the  chapel  itself  was  still  more  imposing. 
All  the  bays  were  occupied  by  raised  seats,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  three  reserved  for  the  orchestra.  The 
King's  gallery  was  full  of  people,  and  there  were  more 
raised  seats  in  the  aisles  below. 

*'The  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness  took  their  places  on 
the  first  step  of  the  sanctuary.  The  priedieu  of  the  King 
and  Queen  was  drawn  back  to  the  middle  of  the  chapel. 
On  the  right,  between  the  priedieu  and  the  sanctuary, 
stood  the  Coadjutor  (of  the  Archbishop  of  Paris),  in 
virtue  of  his  office  as  Grand-Almoner,  with  the  Al- 
moners of  the  King  and  Queen  behind  him.  All  the 
bishops  were  on  the  left,  occupying  the  space  between 
the  priedieu  and  the  steps  of  the  choir.  Cardinal  de 
Tencin  stood  on  the  Queen's  side  of  the  priedieu, 
with  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen  behind  him.  All  the 
ecclesiastics  were  habited  according  to  their  several 
degrees ;  Cardinal  de  Tencin  in  his  red  robes,  the 
archbishops  and  bishops  in  violet,  and  the  abbes  and 
almoners  in  long  cloak  and  rochet.  The  Abbe  de 
Pomponne  was  the  only  one  who  wore  his  ordinary 
dress ;  he  stood  next  to  the  King's  Almoner,  and 
behind  iiim  were  the  chaplains  and  the  clergy  of  the 
chapel,  also  in  full  canonicals,  but  without  rochets.  The 
princes  and  princesses  were  placed  alternately  according 
to  their  rank.  Behind  them  were  four  or  five  dukes, 
with  their  praying  cushions.     In  addition  to  these,  all 

34 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

the  Spanish  dukes  and  grandees  who  assisted  at  the 
ceremony  had  their  praying  cushions  behind  the  seats 
of  the  King  and  Queen.  The  Bishop  of  Mirepoix,  as 
First  Almoner  to  the  Dauphiness,  stood  near  her  in 
the  sanctuary. 

"  Cardinal  Rohan,  who  officiated,  had  next  him  on 
his  right  the  cure  of  Versailles  in  his  stole.  The 
cardinal  first  of  all  sprinkled  the  King  and  Queen  with 
holy  water.  Then  he  returned  to  his  place,  which  was 
a  little  way  in  front  of  the  sanctuary  steps  and  between 
the  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness,  and  commenced  a  dis- 
course, which  lasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  He 
addressed  himself  to  the  Dauphin,  styling  him  "  Mon- 
seigneur,"  according  to  the  directions  he  had  received 
from  the  King.  I  was  too  far  off  to  hear  this  dis- 
course, but  he  has  since  repeated  it  to  me.  It  consisted 
of  a  short  instruction  on  the  state,  duties,  and  sanctity 
of  matrimony,  followed  by  some  appropriate  eulogy  of 
the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain  and  our  own  King  and 
Queen.  He  spoke  also  of  the  alliances  between  France 
and  Spain,  going  back  to  the  time  of  Blanche  of  Castile, 
and  concluded  by  a  declaration  of  his  own  loyalty  and 
that  of  his  family.  It  was  an  eloquent  address  and 
wonderfully  well  delivered, 

"After  this  discourse  he  performed  the  ceremony. 
The  Dauphin  made  his  obeisance  to  the  King  and 
Queen  before  answering  "  I  will,"  and  the  Dauphiness 
did  the  same.  Then  the  cardinal  resumed  his  chasuble 
and,  after  the  usual  obeisance,  celebrated  mass.  After 
the  Gospel,  a  chaplain  carried  the  book  to  the  King's 
priedieu,  and  presented  it  to  the  Coadjutor,  who  tendered 
it  to  the  King  and  Queen  to  kiss. 

"The  canopy  was  of  silver  brocade,  covered  all  over 

35 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

with  silver  network.  It  was  brought  to  the  Abb6 
d'Andlau  and  the  Bishop  of  Mirepoix  by  two  of  the 
chapel  clergy.  The  Abbe  d'Andlau  supported  it  on 
the  Dauphin's  side,  the  Bishop  of  Mirepoix  on  that  of 
the  Dauphiness.  After  prayers  they  returned  it  to  the 
chapel  clergy.^  The  whole  ceremony  lasted  about  two 
hours."  ^ 

The  rejoicings  which  followed  the  marriage  were  con- 
ducted on  a  most  sumptuous  scale.  There  were  balls, 
ballets,  fireworks,  and  illuminations  at  Versailles,  fetes 
at  Compiegne,  and  hunting  parties  at  Fontainebleau  and 
Rambouillet,  all  of  which  involved  the  King  in  such  vast 
expense  that  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  tontines 
to  replenish  the  royal  treasury.  Nor  was  the  good  city 
of  Paris  any  less  eager  than  the  Court  to  do  honour 
to  the  occasion.  As  it  was  the  month  of  February, 
and  it  was  feared  that  the  weather  might  interfere  with 
the  festivities,  the  municipality  caused  twelve  immense 
pavilions  to  be  erected  in  as  many  different  parts  of 
the  city,  which  were  filled  with  tropical  plants  and 
flowers,  "  so  that  those  who  entered  seemed  to  have  sud- 
denly stepped  out  of  winter  into  the  midst  of  spring.'* 
In  these  great  enclosures  musicians  discoursed  their 
liveliest  strains,  refreshments  were  provided  free  of 
charge  for  all  comers,  and  feasting  and  merry-making 
went  on  the  livelong  day ;  "  indeed,"  says  a  contempo- 
rary writer,  who  appears  to  have  had  but  little  sympathy 
with  such  extravagance,  "  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  believe  that  France  was  being  desolated  by  a  war  as 
ruinous  as  it  was  sanguinary,  and  any  one  unacquainted 

1  It  was  subsequently  presented  to  Cardinal  Rohan,  to  whom  it  reverted, 
in  virtue  of  his  office  as  Grand-Almoner. 

2  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luyties,  vi.  312  et  seq. 

36 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

with  the  state  of  affairs  would  have  imagined  us  to  be 
in  a  condition  of  the  most  profound  peace."  ^ 

The  cHmax  of  the  festivities  was  a  grand  masked  ball, 
which  was  given  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  on  February  28, 
and  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  King  and  the  bridal 
pair.  This  affair,  which  was  intended  to  eclipse  every- 
thing of  its  kind  which  had  been  seen  before  in  Paris, 
seems  to  have  given  rise  to  a  good  many  heartburnings, 
and  to  have  afforded  an  admirable  object-lesson  to  over- 
ambitious  promoters  of  such  entertainments.  The 
original  idea  was  to  admit  any  person  of  respectability 
who  cared  to  apply  for  a  ticket,  and,  accordingly, 
notices  were  posted  inviting  those  who  desired  to  be 
present  to  attend  at  the  house  of  M.  Bernage,  the 
provost  of  the  merchants,  and  give  in  their  names. 
When  the  day  came  for  the  distribution  of  the  tickets, 
an  enormous  crowd  collected  around  the  provost's 
house,  but,  through  some  mistake,  only  a  very  small 
number  of  tickets  were  ready,  which  so  enraged  those 
who  were  unable  to  obtain  any  that  they  threatened  to 
storm  the  house ;  and  the  unfortunate  magistrate  was 
forced  to  send  for  the  police,  and  erect  barricades  to 
protect  his  property  from  the  fury  of  his  would-be 
guests. 

After  this  the  provost  who,  according  to  Barbier,  was 
"swollen  with  pride  on  account  of  his  distant  relation- 
ship to  the  Ministers  d'Argenson,"  proposed  that  the 
townsfolk  should  be  excluded  altogether,  and  the  ball 
confined  to  the  Court  and  people  of  quality.  This 
proposal,  however,  was  speedily  overruled,  and  it  was 
decided  that  the  provost  and  the  aldermen  should 
distribute    the    tickets    to    those     whose     claims    were 

1    Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV.,  ii.   170. 

37 


MADAME   DE  POMPADOUR 

admitted,  but  through  the  post,  in  order  to  prevent 
a  repetition  of  the  disorderly  scenes  which  had  just 
occurred.  But  M.  Bernage  wished  to  keep  the  dis- 
tribution in  his  own  hands,  and  refused  to  give  the 
aldermen  more  than  fifty  tickets ;  whereupon  they  set 
off  in  a  body  to  Versailles  and  laid  their  grievance 
before  the  Council,  which,  after  mature  consideration, 
decided  that  each  alderman  was  entitled  to  two  hundred 
tickets. 

While  this  weighty  matter  was  being  settled,  the 
provost  had  picked  a  quarrel  with  the  advocates  and 
attorneys  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  whose  applications 
for  admission  he  refused,  on  the  ground  that  the  ball 
was  intended  for  the  commercial  part  of  the  community, 
and  that  the  lawyers  could  very  well  afford  to  give  one 
of  their  own.  Finally,  however,  he  yielded,  but  sent 
them  their  tickets  in  envelopes  marked  ''"'  As  a  special 
favour^''  "  which  seemed  to  imply,"  says  Barbier,  him- 
self an  advocate,  "  that  he  did  not  consider  them  worthy 
to  enter  his  Hotel  de  Ville." 

At  length  the  great  night  arrived.  The  court  of 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  which  had  been  converted  into  a 
ballroom  for  the  occasion,  was  magnificently  illuminated, 
while  the  great  hall  was  festooned  with  choice  flowers 
and  studded  with  huge  mirrors,  and  presented,  we  are 
assured,  "  an  astonishing  spectacle." 

The  spectacle  must  have  been  still  more  astonish- 
ing when  the  guests  began  to  arrive.  The  provost, 
whom  one  writer  designates  as  "  a  man  of  very  slender 
abilities,"  ^ — a  statement  which  it  is  certainly  not 
difficult  to  believe — appears  to  have  devoted  all  his 
attention  to  the  decorations  and  to   have  had  none  to 

■^   Vie  privee  de  Louis  XF.,  ii.  169. 

3B 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

spare  for  the  comfort  of  the  dancers.  "  The  crush 
and  confusion,"  says  the  indignant  Barbier,  "  were 
truly  terrible.  It  was  impossible  either  to  mount  or 
descend  the  stairs.  People  crowded  into  the  rooms, 
they  were  stifled,  they  shrieked  aloud,  they  fainted 
away.  There  were  six  buffets,  but  they  were  so  ill- 
provided  and  so  badly  managed,  that  three  hours  after 
midnight  there  were  no  refreshments  left.  All  Paris 
is  unanimous  in  condemning  the  disgraceful  arrange- 
ments of  this  ball.  After  having  raised  so  many 
difficulties  and  shown  so  much  fastidiousness  in  selecting 
the  guests,  the  provost  has  given  away  not  only  an 
unlimited  number  of  tickets,  but  has  distributed  them 
to  labourers  and  even  bagnio-keepers,  for  there  were 
a  number  of  improper  females  present.  The  servants 
of  the  foreign  Ministers  and  gentlemen  of  the  Court 
were  selling  the  tickets  on  Sunday  in  Paris,  and  at  ten 
o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  ball  were  crying  them 
in  the  Place  de  Greve  at  twenty-four  and  even  at 
twelve  sous.  Numbers  of  people  are  ill,  several  have 
been  seriously  injured,  and  one  even  hears  of  some, 
both  citizens  and  persons  of  quality,  who  have  died 
from  the  effects  of  fatigue,  or  from  chills  caught  on 
leaving  the  overheated  rooms."  In  short,  for  the  next 
few  days,  there  would  not  appear  to  have  been  a  more 
unpopular  person  in  Paris  than  M.  Bernage,  the  provost, 
who  was  henceforth  known  as  "  the  provost  of  the 
ballroom."  ^ 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  shortcomings  of 
poor  M.  Bernage,  there  was  one  person  at  least  who 
had  cause  to  look  back  upon  the  Hotel  de  Ville  ball 
with  feelings  of  unqualified  satisfaction  ;   for  it  was  in 

^  Journal  de  Barh'ier,  iv.  Z\  et  seq. 

39 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  midst  of  that  struggling,  perspiring  crowd  that 
Madame  d'J^tioles  at  length  succeeded  in  attracting 
the  notice  of  her  sovereign. 

The  royal  party  arrived  at  the  ball  soon  after  mid- 
night, and  were  conducted  to  a  small  apartment  adjoin- 
ing the  great  hall,  where  supper  had  been  prepared  for 
them,  and  where  they  remained  for  some  time  watching 
the  dancers.  Presently  the  King  decided  to  give  his 
faithful  subjects  a  nearer  view  of  him  and,  accordingly, 
made  his  way  into  the  ballroom. 

Louis  XV.  was  at  this  time  in  the  very  prime  of 
manhood,  and  one  of  the  handsomest  princes  of  his 
time.  "  He  had,"  says  Casanova,  "  the  finest  head  in 
the  world,  and  he  carried  it  with  equal  dignity  and 
grace.  No  painter,  however  skilful,  has  succeeded  in 
rendering  the  expression  of  that  splendid  head  when  the 
monarch  turned  to  look  kindly  at  any  one,"^  Moreover, 
the  great  outburst  of  passionate  loyalty  which  his  illness 
at  Metz  had  called  forth  had  not  yet  had  time  to  expend 
itself,  and  his  popularity  was  unbounded.  Small  wonder, 
then,  that,  as  he  moved  through  the  rooms,  every  eye 
was  turned  in  his  direction,  and  many  a  city  beauty's 
heart  beat  high  in  the  hope  of  receiving  an  approving 
glance  from  the  handsome  monarch. 

^  Memoires  de  Casanova  di  Snngalt,  \.  ^JI- 

"  Ju/y  30,  1743. — It  was  yesterday  remarked  that  during  the  last  fort- 
night there  have  been  more  English  people  in  Paris  than  usual.  One 
hears  of  two  very  charming  ladies  of  that  nation  who  spoke  of  the  King 
with  great  respect  and  admiration.  They  had  visited  Versailles  expressly 
to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him.  One  of  them  said  that,  to  judge  by 
his  beautiful  face,  he  had  all  the  perfections  of  heart  and  mind,  and  that 
if  there  was  a  felicity  in  life,  it  must  be  to  be  beloved  by  so  handsome  a 
King.  These  were  the  words  she  used." — Journal  de  Police  sur  Louts 
XV.  ( 1 742-1  743),  p.  330,  appended  to  Journal  de  Barbier,  viii. 

40 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  King  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  perceived 
a  young  woman  dressed  to  represent  Diana,  with  a  bow 
in  her  hand,  a  quiver  at  her  side,  and  her  hair,  which 
fell  in  ringlets  over  her  shoulder,  sparkling  with 
precious  stones,  who  advanced  to  meet  him,  and,  fitting 
an  arrow  to  her  bow,^  pretended  to  aim  it  at  the  royal 
heart. 

Struck  by  her  fine  shape  and  the  grace  of  her  move- 
ments, Louis  gallantly  assured  her  that  it  was  her 
charms  and  not  her  darts  that  he  feared,  and,  upon 
the  goddess  making  some  lively  retort,  engaged  her 
in  conversation,  and  was  so  delighted  with  her  wit  and 
vivacity  that  he  entreated  her  to  unmask.  This,  after 
some  appropriate  hesitation,  she  consented  to  do ;  but, 
with  a  refinement  of  coquetry,  the  instant  she  had 
removed  her  mask  and  revealed  to  the  King  the  features 
of  the  lady  he  had  observed  in  the  Forest  of  Senart, 
she  slipped  away  and  mingled  with  the  crowd,  taking 
care,  however,  not  to  allow  Louis  to  entirely  lose  sight 
of  her.  At  the  same  moment,  either  by  accident  or 
design,  she  dropped  her  handkerchief  almost  at  the 
monarch's  feet.  The  King  at  once  stooped,  picked  it 
up,  and,  in  as  gallant  a  manner  as  possible,  threw  it 
after  the  retreating  figure.  Immediately  a  confused 
murmur  of  "  Le  mouchoir  est  jete  !  "  ("  The  handkerchief 
is  thrown")  ran  round  the  ballroom.  It  was  the 
signal  of  the  triumph  of  Madame  d'Etioles.^ 

The  denouement  of  the   intrigue   was    left    to    Binet 
Some  days  later,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  gossip  of  the 
time,  the  King,  when   retiring   to  rest,   complained   to 
the  valet-de-chamhre    of   the   ennui   which    had    afflicted 
him  since   the   death   of  Madame   de   Chateauroux,   of 

^    Vie privee  de  Louis  XV. ^  ii.   170  et  seq. 
41 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

his  weariness  of  passing  gallantries,  but  of  the  apparent 
hopelessness  of  finding  among  the  greedy  and  ambitious 
ladies  of  the  Court  one  whose  regard  for  him  was  in  the 
least  likely  to  be  disinterested.  Binet  was  not  slow  to 
avail  himself  of  such  an  opportunity,  and  mentioned  to 
his  master  that  he  knew  of  a  lady,  young,  beautiful,  and 
accomplished,  who  had  from  childhood  cherished  the 
most  tender  sentiments  for  his  Majesty,  and  who,  though 
surrounded  by  lovers,  had  been  heard  to  declare  that 
"no  one  could  tempt  her  to  forget  her  marriage  vows 
save  the  King  himself."  Louis,  thereupon,  inquired 
who  she  rriight  be,  and  was  told  that  she  was  the  lady 
of  the  Forest  of  S6nart  and  of  the  hal  masque. 

Louis,  his  vanity  flattered,  authorised  Binet  to  ask 
for  a  rendezvous.  The  rendezvous  was  granted,  and 
the  quidnuncs  of  the  Court  remarked  that  for  several 
successive  evenings  the  King  supped  in  his  private 
apartments,  without  inviting  any  one  to  share  his  repast ; 
and  "  all  Versailles  believed  that  Madame  d'Etioles  was 
his  companion."  The  general  opinion,  however,  seems 
to  have  been  that  his  Majesty's  attentions  to  the  lady 
were  very  unlikely  to  lead  to  any  permanent  connection.^ 

A  month  passed.  The  King  made  no  sign.  He 
appeared  deaf  to  the  hints  of  Binet  and  of  Bridge, 
one  of  his  equerries  and  a  great  friend  of  Madame 
d'Etioles,  whose  good  offices  the  valet-de-chambre  had 
enlisted,  and  to  have  no  desire  to  continue  the  acquaint- 
ance. Binet  was  in  despair,  and  feared  that  the  King 
was  on  the  point  of  succumbing  to  the  charms  of  the 
Duchesse  de  Rochechouart,  whose  candidature  had  the 
support  of  Richelieu,  or  that  his  former  ajffection  for 
Madame  de  Lauraguais  had  suddenly  revived,  and  that 

^  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  vi.  354. 
42 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

she  was  about  to  be  installed  in  her  dead  sister's  place. 
As  for  Madame  d'Etioles,  history  does  not  record  what 
sufferings  she  endured  throughout  this  period  of 
suspense,  but  her  disappointment  and  mortification  at 
seeing  the  prize  for  which  she  had  so  long  striven 
slipping  away  from  her  after  it  had  seemed  within  her 
grasp  must  indeed  have  been  bitter.  Fortunately  for 
the  success  of  her  schemes,  help  came  from  a  most 
unexpected  quarter.  A  false  move  on  the  part  of  an 
enemy  gave  the  conspirators  an  opportunity  for  which 
otherwise  they  might  have  waited  in  vain. 


43 


CHAPTER    IV 

The  Bishop  of  Mirepoix  intervenes — Result  of  his  intervention 
— Binet  returns  to  the  charge — Second  visit  of  Madame 
d'^tioles  to  Versailles  —  A  little  supper -party — Madame 
d'Etioles  determines  to  put  her  fate  to  the  touch — An  affect- 
ing scene  —  Triumph  of  Madame  d'Etioles  —  How  M. 
d'Etioles  took  the  news — His  letter  to  his  wife — What  the 
King  thought  of  the  letter — M.  d'Etioles  is  sent  to  Provence 
— He  falls  ill  at  Avignon — But  recovers — An  embarrassing 
toast — Subsequent  relations  between  M.  d'Etioles  and  his 
wife — The  King  goes  to  the  wars — Madame  d'Etioles  retires 
to  the  country — The  Ahb6  de  Bernis — Anecdotes  about 
him — Voltaire  in  the  role  of  flatterer — Louis  XV.'s  love- 
letters — Madame  d'Etioles  is  created  Marquise  de  Pompadour 
— Voltaire's  verses — Louis  XV.  returns  to  France — Madame 
de  Pompadour's  presentation  at  Court  —  Her  reception  by 
the  King  —  By  the  Queen — And  by  the  Dauphin  —  She 
accompanies  the  Court  to  Choisy — And  to  Fontainebleau — 
Attentions  paid  her  by  Louis  XV. — Death  of  Madame 
Poisson  —  Grief  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  —  Her  life  at 
Fontainebleau. 

We  have  mentioned  that  the  fact  of  Madame  d'Etioles's 
visit  to  Versailles  was  an  open  secret  at  Court.  What 
also  seems  to  have  been  pretty  well  known  was  that 
her  relative  Binet  was  in  some  way  responsible  for  her 
presence  there.  It  was  not  long  before  a  rumour  of 
what  was  going  on  reached  the  ears  of  a  person  who 
had  very  little  sympathy  with  the  frailties  of  his  royal 
master — Boyer,  the  Bishop  of  Mirepoix,  "  a  sour,  opaque 

44 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

creature,"  ^  who  had  formerly  been  tutor  to  the  Dauphin, 
and  was  high  in  favour  with  both  his  late  pupil  and 
the  Dauphiness. 

The  bishop  was  one  of  those  honest,  hot-tempered, 
blundering  kind  of  men  whose  zeal  generally  outruns 
their  discretion,  and  who,  in  consequence,  are  far  more 
to  be  dreaded  by  their  friends  than  by  their  opponents. 
He  seems  to  have  been  perpetually  at  war  with  some 
one  or  other.  At  one  time,  it  was  with  the  Jansenists, 
who,  although  in  a  semi- moribund  condition,  were 
speedily  galvanised  into  life  by  his  ill-advised  persecu- 
tion of  them.  At  another,  it  was  with  the  haughty 
Due  de  Duras,  who,  when  he  waited  upon  the  bishop 
to  solicit  an  abbey  for  his  cousin,  the  Abbe  de  Durfort, 
was  informed  by  the  prelate,  who  had  forgotten  that 
Durfort  was  the  duke's  family  name,  that  abbeys  were 
only  intended  for  young  men  of  noble  birth.  Then, 
it  was  with  Piron,  the  poet,  upon  whose  election  to 
the  Academy  he  persuaded  the  King  to  impose  his 
veto,  thereby  bringing  down  upon  himself  a  hail  of 
lampoons,  and  inspiring  the  rejected  candidate  to  that 
immortal  epitaph  : — 

"  Ci-git  Piron,  qui  ne  fut  jamais  rien, 
Pas  meme  Academicien." 

Now  the  bishop  had  suffered  many  and  grievous 
things  at  the  hands  of  the  philosophes^  particularly  at 
those  of  Voltaire,  who,  encouraged  thereto  by  the 
Duchesse  de  Chateauroux,  had  ridiculed  the  unfortu- 
nate old  man  in  the  most  merciless  fashion.  When, 
therefore,  he  heard  that  Madame  d'Etioles,  a  woman 
who  was  suspected  of  irreligion,  and  whose  youth  had 

^  Carlyle's  <'  Frederick  the  Great,"  v.  223. 
45 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

been  passed  in  the  society  of  his  most  bitter  enemies, 
was  likely  to  succeed  to  the  vacant  place  of  matiresse- 
en-titre^  his  indignation  knew  no  bounds,  and,  sending 
for  Binet,  he  threatened  to  advise  the  Dauphin  to 
dismiss  him  instantly  did  the  rumours  of  his  connection 
with  this  affair  prove  to  be  well  founded.  Binet  pre- 
tended to  be  much  shocked  by  the  bishop's  suspicions ; 
assured  him  that  he  had  been  misinformed ;  that  the 
charges  brought  against  Madame  d'Etioles  were  the 
vilest  calumnies ;  that  her  sole  object  in  coming  to 
Court  was  to  solicit  some  promotion  for  one  of  her 
relations,  and  that,  having  secured  it,  she  would  be 
seen  no  more  at  Versailles.  The  bishop,  only  half- 
convinced,  renewed  his  threats,  and  the  valet-de-chamhre 
withdrew,  promising  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  prevent 
Madame  d'Etioles  returning  to  Court. 

Binet,  who  was  a  clever  scoundrel,  was  not  slow  to 
perceive  how  this  high-handed  action  on  the  part  of  the 
bishop  could  be  turned  to  his  cousin's  advantage ;  and, 
accordingly,  lost  no  time  in  seeking  out  several  of  the 
King's  most  intimate  friends  and  informing  them  of  what 
had  passed. 

Hitherto  these  gentlemen  had  regarded  the  pretensions 
of  Madame  d'Etioles  with  no  friendly  eye,  having,  in 
more  than  one  instance,  candidates  of  their  own  for  the 
royal  favour ;  but,  on  hearing  Binet's  story,  which,  it  is 
safe  to  conclude,  lost  nothing  in  the  telling,  they  were 
inclined  to  view  the  matter  in  a  very  different  light. 
Ever  since  the  young  Dauphin,  who  was  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Jesuits,  had  come  to  years  of  discretion,  the 
influence  of  the  priestly  party,  of  which  the  Bishop  of 
Mirepoix  was  the  "  screech-owl,"  had  been  increasing 
daily  ;  and  the  King's  friends  were  well  aware  that  if  once 

46 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

the  devots  were  to  succeed  in  working  upon  Louis's 
superstitious  fears  so  as  to  induce  him  to  amend  his 
ways,  there  would  be  a  speedy  end  to  their  own  influence. 
The  surest  means  to  prevent  this  was,  of  course,  to  pro- 
vide the  King  with  a  successor  to  the  ill-fated  Chateauroux 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible  ;  and,  as  none  of  the  ladies 
of  the  Court  appeared  to  have  any  particular  attraction 
for  him  at  that  moment,  it  was  obvious  that  the  only 
course  open  to  them  was  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Madame 
d'Etioles. 

Having  come  to  this  decision,  they  informed  Louis 
of  what  Binet  had  told  them ;  hinted  that  the  recent 
refusal  of  the  young  Dauphiness  to  join  one  of  the  King's 
supper  parties — a  refusal  which  had  caused  Louis  much 
annoyance — was  due  to  the  advice  of  her  husband's 
priestly  advisers,  and  pointed  out  to  him  that  it  would  be 
regarded  by  the  devots  as  a  confession  of  weakness  on  his 
part  did  he  fail  to  resent  such  presumptuous  interference 
in  his  private  affairs. 

The  monarch,  highly  exasperated,  thereupon  declared 
that  he  should  do  as  he  pleased,  in  spite  of  all  the  bishops 
in  France ;  and  Binet  was,  accordingly,  not  in  the  least 
surprised  when  his  master  sent  for  him  one  evening, 
and  laughingly  inquired  what  impression  he  had  made 
upon  Madame  d'Etioles. 

The  valet's  answer  may  be  readily  anticipated.  He 
declared  that  Madame  d'Etioles  was  madly  in  love  with 
the  King  ;  that  she  was  nearly  heartbroken  at  his  neglect ; 
that  her  husband's  suspicions  had  been  aroused,  and 
that  were  he  to  discover  the  truth  and  the  King  still  to 
remain  indifferent,  he  very  much  feared  she  would  destroy 
herself. 

Louis    then    confessed    that    he    had    formed    a   very 

47 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

favourable  impression  of  the  lady,  but  that  he  fancied 
that  he  had  detected  in  her  some  signs  of  ambition  or 
avarice,  which  had  determined  him  to  wait  for  a  while, 
in  order  to  see  how  she  would  take  his  apparent  in- 
difference. 

Binet  hastened  to  assure  the  King  that  there  could  be 
no  question  of  self-interest  on  the  part  of  his  cousin,  as 
her  husband  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  financiers  in  Paris 
and  heir  to  M.  Lenormant  de  Tournehem. 

Thereupon  the  King  signified  that  he  should  be  very 
pleased  to  see  Madame  d'Etioles  again ;  and  a  second 
interview  was  arranged  for  April  22. 

"  Last  night  the  King  again  supped  with  Madame 
d'Etioles  in  his  private  apartments,"  writes  the  Due  de 
Luynes  in  his  journal  on  the  23rd.  "  M.  de  Luxembourg 
was  also  there  and  Madame  de  Bellefonds,  who  was 
invited  in  place  of  Madame  de  Lauraguais,  who  was  in 
Paris,  Every  one  believed  that  the  King  would  attend 
the  Spanish  Ambassador's  ball,  but  he  remained  in  his 
apartments  and  did  not  retire  to  rest  till  five  o'clock. 
To-day  he  has  again  dined  with  Madame  d'Etioles,  but 
in  the  strictest  privacy.  No  one  seems  to  know  exactly 
where  she  is  lodged,  but  I  myself  believe  it  is  in  a  little 
suite  of  rooms  which  Madame  de  Mailly  used  to  occupy, 
and  which  adjoins  the  King's  private  apartments.  She 
does  not  remain  here,  however,  but  goes  backwards  and 
forwards  to  Paris,  and  returns  there  this  evening."  ^ 

But  Madame  d'Etioles  did  not  return  to  Paris  that 
evening,  nor  for  many  evenings  to  come.  Warned  by  the 
astute  Binet,  she  had,  on  this  occasion,  carefully  dissembled 
all  trace  of  her  ambitious  and  imperious  nature  and  was 
now  only  the  agreeable,  amusing  companion  whom  the 

1  Memoires  du  Due  de  LuyneSy  vj.  420. 
48 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

King  required.  At  the  same  time,  however,  she  was  fully 
determined  not  to  allow  herself  to  be  made  the  victim  of 
an  ephemeral  passion,  but  to  put  her  fate  to  the  touch 
without  further  delay. 

The  following  morning,  accordingly,  she  repaired  to 
the  King's  apartments,  and,  throwing  herself  at  his  feet, 
represented  to  him  all  she  had  risked  for  love's  sweet 
sake.  She  spoke  of  her  husband — that  husband  who 
worshipped  the  ground  upon  which  she  trod,  and  whose 
suspicions  were  already  aroused.  She  could  not,  she 
dared  not,  she  declared,  return  home  and  face  the 
first  outburst  of  his  resentment,  grief,  and  shame. 
With  a  voice  almost  choked  by  sobs,  she  depicted 
him  awaiting  her  with  a  dagger,  or  a  cup  of  poison,  to 
avenge  his  honour.  In  short,  she  played  the  part  of 
the  terrified  wife  to  such  perfection — for,  as  we  have 
said,  she  was  a  consummate  actress — that  Louis  was 
almost  as  much  alarmed  as  he  imagined  her  to  be, 
and  oifered  her  an  asylum  at  Versailles,  until  M. 
d'Etioles's  wrath  should  have  had  time  to  abate. 

Here,  in  the  old  apartments  of  Madame  de  Mailly, 
secure  from  all  interruption,  Madame  d'Etioles  was 
free  to  employ  all  the  resources  at  her  command  to 
rivet  the  fetters  of  her  royal  slave,  with  the  result 
that  when,  on  May  6,  Louis  left  Versailles  to  join 
t  the  army  in  Flanders,  she  had  successively  obtained 
the  promise  of  a  separation  from  her  husband,  the 
promise  of  protection  against  the  devots  of  the  Court, 
the  promise  of  a  title  and  an  estate,  and,  finally — 
crowning  triumph  of  all — the  promise  that  she  should 
be  duly  installed  as  acknowledged  mistress  when  the 
King  returned  from  the  wars. 

A  few  days  before  Louis's  departure,  another  act  in 

49  D 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

the  little  drama  had  been  performed  —  the  breaking 
of  the  news  to  the  injured  husband.  This  task  was 
entrusted  to  M.  Lenormant  de  Tournehem,  who, 
although  at  first  a  little  inclined  to  resent  the  manner 
in  which  his  nephew  had  been  treated,  was  quickly- 
mollified  by  the  reflection  of  the  many  advantages 
which  might  accrue  to  himself  through  his  connection 
with  the  new  favourite,  M.  d'Etioles  was  returning 
from  Magnanville,  where  he  had  been  spending  Easter 
at  the  house  of  a  friend,  when  he  was  met  by  the 
farmer-general,  who  informed  him  that  his  wife  had 
become  the  mistress  of  the  King,  "  on  hearing  which," 
says  the  Due  de  Luynes,  "  M.  d'Etioles  fell  to  the 
ground  in  a  swoon."  ^ 

When  he  came  to  himself,  his  agony  of  mind  was 
terrible  to  witness,  and  his  uncle  had  grave  fears  that 
he  would  destroy  himself  in  his  frenzy.  He,  there- 
fore, accompanied  him  home,  directed  the  servants  to 
remove  all  the  weapons  that  were  in  the  house,  and 
remained  with  him  until  he  grew  calmer,  but  had 
great  difiiculty  in  preventing  him  from  rushing  off  to 
Versailles  and  "  making  the  rafters  of  the  palace  ring 
with  his  cries  for  justice."  He  was,  eventually,  some- 
what pacified  by  M.  de  Tournehem  offering  to  be  the 
bearer  of  a  letter  to  his  wife,  in  which  the  poor  young 
man  entreated  her  to  return  to  him,  promising  that, 
if  she  would  do  so,  all  should  be  forgiven. 

Madame  d'Etioles  read  the  letter,  without  being  in 
the  least  moved  by  the  despair  of  the  husband  who 
had  loved  her  so  tenderly,  and,  the  King  happening 
to  visit  her  at  that  moment,  g^ve  it  to  him  to  read, 
thinking,  perhaps,  that  he  would  find  therein  material 

1  Memotres  du  Due  de  Luynes.,  vi.  423. 
50 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

for  amusement.  In  this,  however,  she  was  mistaken, 
for  Louis,  in  spite  of  his  vices,  could  still  appreciate 
virtue  in  women  and  honour  in  men  when  he  found 
them,  and  now,  after  glancing  over  the  letter, 
handed  it  back  to  her,  remarking  coldly,  "You 
appear,  madame,  to  have  a  very  honest  man  for  a 
husband." 

But  honest  man  as  M.  d'Etioles  was,  it  was,  never- 
theless, deemed  expedient  that  he  should  absent  him- 
self from  the  neighbourhood  of  Paris  for  some  time 
at  least ;  and,  accordingly,  he  received  orders  to  retire 
to  Provence,  there  to  take  the  place  of  one  of  the 
farmers-general  who  usually  made  the  circuit  of  that 
part  of  the  country.  At  Avignon  he  fell  dangerously 
ill  with  brain  fever,  the  result  of  the  terrible  mental 
suffering  which  he  had  recently  undergone,  and  lay 
for  many  days  between  life  and  death.  Thanks  to  a 
robust  constitution,  he  ultimately  recovered,  and  re- 
turned to  Paris,  after  a  year's  absence,  "  entirely  cured 
of  his  passion  for  a  woman  who  was  so  little  worthy 
of  him." ' 

It  was  during  M.  d'Etioles's  visit  to  Provence  that 
a  rather  embarrassing  incident  occurred.  In  every 
town  through  which  he  passed,  he  received,  in  virtue 
of  his  office  of  farmer-general,  numerous  invitations 
to  dine  and  sup,  and  his  relationship  to  the  King's 
new  mistress,  who  had  now  been  created  Marquise  de 
Pompadour,  being,  of  course,  well  known,  he  was  treated 
with  even  greater  consideration  than  was  usually  shown 
to  the  collectors  of  the  King's  taxes.  At  one  of  these 
festive    gatherings,   there    happened    to    be    among    the 

^  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  vi.  423.  Campardon's  Madame  de 
Pompadour  et  la  Cour  de  Louis  XV.,  p.  13. 

51 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

guests  an  old  country  gentleman,  "  fortunate  enough 
to  know  nothing  about  the  Court,  the  King,  or  his 
mistress,  and  even  unaware  that  he  had  one."  ^  He 
was  much  struck  with  the  deference  paid  by  all 
present  to  M.  d'Etioles,  and  inquired  of  one  of  his 
neighbours  at  table  what  the  name  of  this  distin- 
guished stranger  might  be.  "  Can  it  be  possible  that 
you  do  not  know,"  replied  the  person  addressed,  "that 
he  is  the  husband  of  the  Marquise  de  Pompadour .?  " 
Upon  this  the  old  gentleman  rose,  with  his  glass  in 
his  hand,  and,  taking  advantage  of  a  momentary  pause 
in  the  conversation,  bowed  courteously  to  M.  d'Etioles, 
and  exclaimed,  "  Monsieur  le  Marquis  de  Pompadour, 
will  you  permit  me  to  drink  your  health ,'' "  The 
effect  which  such  a  toast  produced  on  the  company 
may  well  be  imagined. 

Shortly  after  M.  d'Etioles  returned  to  Paris,  the 
Chatelet  pronounced  a  judicial  separation  between  him 
and  his  wife.  On  the  other  hand,  if  money  was  able 
to  compensate  the  injured  husband  for  the  loss  of  the 
woman  he  had  so  fondly  loved,  he  had  little  reason  to 
complain,  for  he  received  an  appointment  as  farmer- 
general  in  Paris,  the  profits  of  which  were  estimated  at 
over  400,000  livres  a  year.  He  never  saw  his  wife,  but 
they  occasionally  corresponded,  and  when  Madame  de 
Pompadour  proposed  to  go  to  the  play,  she  invariably 
wrote  to  her  husband  to  inform  him  of  her  intention, 
in  order  that  he  might  keep  away,  as  she  feared  that 
his  presence  in  a  theatre  at  the  same  time  as  herself 
might  be  made  the  occasion  of  a  popular  demonstration 
against  her. 

Several  writers,    Capefigue    among  the  number,  have 

^   Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV.,  ii.  219. 

5* 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

asserted  that  Madame  d'Etioles  followed  the  King  in 
the  campaign  of  Fontenoy,  though  under  an  incognito. 
This  statement  is  quite  incorrect,  Louis,  indeed,  wished 
her  to  accompany  him,  but  mindful  of  the  popular 
hostility  which  Madame  de  Chiteauroux's  appearance 
in  the  royal  train  had  aroused  the  previous  year,  and 
probably  also  being  of  opinion  that  in  the  early  stages 
of  a  love  affair  separation  is  generally  calculated  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  of  affection,  she  declined,  and 
passed  the  time  of  the  King's  absence  in  a  kind  of 
semi-retirement  at  Etioles,  in  the  society  of  a  few 
intimate  friends,  among  whom  were  Voltaire  and  a 
person  who  figures  somewhat  prominently  in  this  history 
— the  Ahh6  de  Bernis,  the  future  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  and  cardinal. 

Francis  Joachim  de  Pierre  de  Bernis  was  at  this  time 
about  thirty  years  of  age.  A  cadet  of  an  ancient,  but 
impoverished  family  in  Languedoc,  which  traced  its 
descent  back  to  the  tenth  century  and  boasted  of  an 
ancestor  who  had  fought  at  the  siege  of  Antioch,  he 
was  educated,  like  so  many  of  the  younger  sons  of  the 
noblesse,  for  the  Church,  and  at  the  College  of  Louis-le- 
Grand  and  the  seminary  of  Saint-Sulpice  distinguished 
himself  in  his  studies.  Unfortunately  for  his  hopes  of 
preferment,  young  Bernis  was  of  far  too  independent  a 
character  to  commend  himself  to  the  dispensers  of 
ecclesiastical  patronage,  who  disliked  nothing  so  much 
as  independence,  and,  despairing  of  obtaining  a  benefice, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  came  to  Paris,  with  empty 
pockets,  but  with  agreeable  manners,  a  lively  wit,  an 
almost  sublime  confidence  in  himself,  and  the  title  of 
abb6.  An  abb6,  it  may  be  here  observed,  was  neither 
a  churchman  nor  a  layman,  but  something  between  the 

S3 


MADAME  DE   POMPADOUR 

two.  In  theory,  he  approximated  to  the  former; 
in  practice,  he  was  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  latter.  He  wore  a  short  black  cloak,  was  for- 
bidden to  dance,  and  permitted  to  plead  conscientious 
scruples  as  a  reason  for  declining  a  challenge  to  a 
duel — a  privilege  which  very  few  cared  to  avail  them- 
selves of;  otherwise,  he  was  as  much  a  layman  as  a 
captain  of  musketeers. 

Bernis's  high  birth,  good  looks,  and  pleasing  manners 
gave  him  admission  to  the  best  society,  where  he  soon 
became  a  great  favourite  with  the  fair  sex,  owing  to  a 
happy  knack  which  he  possessed  of  improvising  verses 
in  praise  of  their  charms.  He  was,  however,  miserably 
poor ;  so  poor,  indeed,  that  he  was  forced  to  take  his 
meals  at  an  ordinary  where  the  charge  was  but  six  sous 
a  head,  while  an  invitation  to  dinner  was  as  often  as 
not  accompanied  by  a  crown  to  defray  the  hire  of 
his  fiacre,  for  the  little  abbe's  poverty  was  well  known, 
and,  to  his  credit,  he  was  not  in  the  least  ashamed 
of  it.^ 

But  nothing  could  damp  Bernis's  irrepressible  good 
humour,  not  even  a  ridiculous  nickname  which  Voltaire 
bestowed  upon  him,  and  which,  says  one  of  his  bio- 
graphers,  "would  have  ruined  an  ordinary  man."      It 

^  An  amusing  story  is  related  of  Bernis's  poverty-stricken  days.  One 
afternoon  when  he  was  dining  at  a  friend's  house  at  some  little  distance 
from  the  capital,  he  suddenly  rose  from  the  table,  begged  his  hostess  to 
excuse  him,  as  he  had  just  remembered  a  most  important  engagement  in 
Paris,  and  hurriedly  took  his  leave.  It  subsequently  transpired  that  the 
future  cardinal  shared  a  fashionable  suit  of  clothes  with  another  abbd  as 
poor  as  himself,  one  wearing  it  in  the  daytime,  the  other  at  night,  and  that 
Bernis's  abrupt  departure  on  the  occasion  in  question  was  caused  by  his 
recollecting  that  his  partner  had  been  invited  out  to  supper  that  evening 
and  was  waiting  for  the  suit. 

54 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

cost  him,  as  it  was,  the  favour  of  old  Cardinal  Fleury, 
who  had  promised  Bernis's  father  to  make  his  son's 
fortune,  but  who  set  but  little  store  by  amatory  poetry, 
and,  not  unnaturally,  considered  that  a  person  who  was 
known  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Paris  by 
the  sobriquet  of  "  Babet,"  ^  was  scarcely  a  fit  subject  for 
ecclesiastical  preferment.  When,  therefore,  the  abb^ 
waited  upon  him  to  solicit  a  vacant  benefice,  he  was 
gruffly  informed  that  he  might  hope  in  vain  for  pro- 
motion as  long  as  he  (the  cardinal)  was  alive. 

"Ah,  well,  I  will  wait,  Monseigneur,"  replied  the 
petitioner,  with  a  pleasant  smile,  which  did  not  render 
the  retort  the  less  piquant,  as  the  abbe  was  very  young, 
while  the  all-powerful  Minister  was  over  eighty.  How- 
ever, it  was  not  until  his  friend,  Madame  d'Etioles, 
began  to  mount  the  ladder  of  fortune  that  Bernis's 
patience  was  rewarded. 

Great  were  the  rejoicings  at  Etioles  when,  in  the 
middle  of  May,  the  news  of  the  victory  of  Fontenoy 
arrived.  Voltaire,  who,  tormented  as  he  was  by  libels 
and  disgusted  with  the  failure  of  his  attempts  to  break 
through  the  ring  of  bigots  which  barred  his  entrance  to 
the  Academy,  had  lately  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
spell  of  Court  favour  might  do  him  no  harm,  hastened 
to  improve  the  occasion  by  some  pretty  verses  : — 

*'  Quand  Louis,  ce  h^ros  charmant, 
Dont  tout  Paris  fait  son  idole, 
Gagne  quelque  combat  brillant, 
On  en  dolt  faire  compliment 
A  la  divine  d'Etiole." 

^  Babet  was  the  name  of  a  pretty  flower  girl  who  sold  nosegays  in  the 
streets  of  Paris.  Voltaire  had  bestowed  it  upon  Bernis  in  allusion  to  the 
"  flowery  "  nature  of  his  poetry. 

55 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  effect  of  which  was  somewhat  marred  by  the  follow- 
ing reply  from  the  pen  of  a  rival  poet : — 

**  Pour  Louis  ce  heros  charmant 
Voltaire  ecrit  mainte  babiole. 
Bataille  et  vers  tout  est  brillant, 
Et  fort  digne  certainment 
De  I'incomparable  d'litiole." 

Louis  XV. 's  military  responsibilities  did  not  prevent 
him  from  thinking  of  his  mistress,  and  an  active 
correspondence  was  kept  up  between  them,  Bernis, 
if  Marmontel  is  to  be  believed,  assisted  Madame 
d'Etioles  in  the  composition  of  her  replies;  and  this 
rather  strange  collaboration  was  so  successful,  and  the 
letters,  we  are  assured,  were  so  full  of  esprit  and  tender- 
ness, that  the  monarch  was  enchanted,  and  the  couriers 
were  kept  very  busy.  In  the  early  days  of  July  the 
triumphant  favourite  was  able  to  exhibit  no  less  than 
eighty  amorous  epistles,  each  sealed  with  a  gallant 
motto  and  marked  "  Private  and  confidential,"  and, 
finally,  one  bearing  the  direction  "  A  la  Marquise  de 
Tompadour^''  and  containing  the  brevet  which  conferred 
that  title  upon  her.^ 

The  new  marchioness  received  it  with  a  delight  which 
she  made  no  attempt  to  conceal,  and  hastened  to  sub- 
stitute the  arms — three  towers — for  those  of  her  hus- 
band, and  to  array  her  servants  in  a  sumptuous  livery, 
Voltaire,  who  seems  to  have  constituted  himself  for  the 

^  The  marquisate  of  Pompadour  had  originally  belonged  to  an  old 
Limousin  family,  but  had  passed  out  of  their  possession  through  failure  of 
heirs  male.  The  last  holder  of  the  title  readers  of  Dumas  pere  will 
remember  as  one  of  the  characters  in  Uue  fille  du  Regent.  The  marquisate 
had  recently  been  granted  to  the  Prince  de  Conti,  from  whom  Louis  now 
repurchased  it. 

56 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

nonce  her  poet-in-ordinary,  and  was  a  witness  of  her 
satisfaction,  felt  himself  once  more  inspired  to  verse. 
The  Patriarch  of  the  Holy  Philosophical  Church,  on  the 
occasions  when  it  suited  him  to  assume  the  role  of 
flatterer,  never  failed  to  give  a  most  effective  rendering 
of  the  part,  as  the  following  lines  will  testify : — 

*•  II  sait  aimer,  il  sait  cornbattre, 
II  envoie  en  ce  beau  sejour 
Un  brevet  digne  de  Henri  quatre, 
Signe  :   Louis,  Mars  et  1' Amour. 
Mais  les  ennemis  ont  leur  tour, 
Et  sa  valeur  et  sa  prudence 
Donnent  a  Gand,  le  merae  jour, 
Un  brevet  de  villa  de  France.^ 
Ces  deux  brevets  si  bien  venus, 
Vivront  tous  deux  dans  la  memoire. 
Chez  lui  les  autels  de  Vdnus 
Sont  dans  le  temple  de  la  Gloire." 

Louis  XV.  returned  to  his  capital  on  September  8^ 
and,  a  week  later,  Madame  d'Etioles,  or  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  as  we  must  now  call  her,  was  formally 
presented  at  Court. 

The  Princesse  de  Conti,  who  had  taken  a  prominent 
part  in  bringing  about  the  King's  intrigue  with  Madame 
de  Mailly,  and  whose  extravagance  and  that  of  her  family 
inclined  her  to  a  complaisant  role,  had  readily  accepted 
Louis's  suggestion  that  she  should  act  as  the  new 
favourite's  chief  sponsor ;  but,  as  she  desired  to  remain 
on  good  terms  with  the  Queen,  she,  at  the  same  time, 
took  the  precaution  of  assuring  the  latter  that  she  had 
only  consented  to  perform  this  office  under  great  pres- 
sure from  his  Majesty,  and  that  she  earnestly  hoped  that 

^  The  town  of  Gand  had  surrendered  to  the  French,  July  1 1,  1745. 

57 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

he  would  release  her  from  her  promise  before  the  day 
fixed  for  the  ceremony  arrived.  The  princess  was 
supported  by  Madame  de  Lachau-Montauban  and  the 
Comtesse  d'Estrades,  a  cousin  by  marriage  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  who  had  herself  been  presented  a  few 
days  earlier. 

The  ceremonial  of  presentation  was  as  follows : — On 
the  day  before,  the  lady  who  was  to  be  presented  went 
to  the  palace,  accompanied  by  her  sponsors,  and  was 
there  introduced  to  the  ladies-in-waiting  and  ladies  of 
the  Bedchamber  to  the  Queen  and  her  daughters.  On 
the  day  of  the  drawing-room,  all  the  ladies  were  attired 
in  full  Court  dress.  A  more  unsightly  and  more  un- 
comfortable form  of  apparel  it  would  be  difficult  to 
conceive.  It  consisted  of  an  enormous  panniered  or 
hooped  petticoat,  and  a  train  called  a  has-de-rohe.  The 
petticoat  weighed  as  a  rule  upwards  of  forty  pounds, 
and  Marshal  Saxe,  who  was  once  permitted  to  examine 
that  of  the  Dauphiness  during  her  toilette,  declares  that 
it  was  heavier  than  his  cuirass,  and  expressed  his  astonish- 
ment that  any  woman  could  support  such  a  burden  for 
hours  at  a  time,  as  the  ladies  of  the  Royal  Family 
were  compelled  to  do  on  presentation  days.  The  has- 
de-robe  was  rather  narrow,  but  of  extravagant  length,  and 
when  the  unfortunate  debutante  was  "  backing "  out  of 
the  room  after  being  presented,  unless  she  exercised 
great  care,  the  chances  were  in  favour  of  her  tripping 
over  it  and  receiving  an  awkward  fall. 

The  ceremony  included  presentation  to  the  King  and 
the  Dauphin,  as  well  as  to  the  Queen,  but  that  to  the 
last-named  was,  of  course,  the  most  important,  and  also 
the  most  trying  part  of  the  ordeal.  The  presentee  made 
a  curtsey  on  entering  the  room,  a  second  a  little  farther 

58 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

on,  and  a  third  in  front  of  the  Queen,  at  the  same 
moment  taking  up  the  hem  of  her  Majesty's  gown  as 
if  to  kiss  it.  This  the  Queen  prevented  by  a  motion 
of  her  fan ;  said  a  few  polite  words,  and  then  made 
a  curtsey  herself  as  a  sign  of  dismissal.  The  lady, 
thereupon,  retired  backwards,  curtseying  as  she  went, 
and  kicking  away  her  formidable  train  at  every  other 
step. 

The  presentations  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
at  which  hour  Madame  de  Pompadour  repaired  to  the 
King's  apartments  and  was  formally  introduced  to  his 
Majesty.  The  conversation  was  short.  The  monarch 
seemed  much  embarrassed,  and  the  marchioness  equally 
so.  A  few  words  only  were  exchanged,  and  the  pre- 
sentie  passed  on  to  the  Queen.  An  immense  crowd  of 
courtiers,  eager  to  be  spectators  of  the  meeting  between 
the  wife  and  the  mistress,  flocked  after  her  into  the 
room  where  Marie  Leczinska  was  receiving.  All  Ver- 
sailles had  arranged  the  conversation  which  would  ensue. 
It  was  generally  agreed  that  the  Queen  would  merely 
pay  Madame  de  Pompadour  some  ordinary  compliment 
upon  her  gown,  and  then  dismiss  her.  To  every  one's 
amazement,  however,  Marie  Leczinska,  who  was  natur- 
ally of  a  kind  and,  sweet  disposition,  and,  above  all 
things,  anxious  to  conform  to  her  husband's  wishes,  re- 
ceived the  new  favourite  with  marked  graciousness,  and, 
remembering  that  the  marchioness  had  a  distant  rela- 
tive among  the  noblesse^  a  certain  Madame  de  Saissac, 
said  to  her,  "  Have  you  had  any  news  of  Madame  de 
Saissac  lately }  I  should  have  been  very  pleased  to  have 
seen  her  occasionally  when  she  was  in  Paris  }  " 

Touched  by  this  kindly  reception,  so  very  difi^erent 
from  what  she  had  anticipated,  Madame  de  Pompadour 

59 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

could  only  murmur,  "  I  have  an  intense  desire  to  please 
you,  Madame,"  a  protestation  of  devotion  which  seemed 
to  afFord  the  Queen  much  pleasure. 

After  the  Queen,  it  was  the  turn  of  the  Dauphin. 
The  young  prince,  however,  regarded  his  father's  mis- 
tress with  the  greatest  disfavour,  and  was  at  no  pains  to 
conceal  his  feelings.  He,  therefore,  simply  paid  her 
some  empty  compliment  upon  her  appearance,  with  the 
air  of  one  discharging  an  unpleasant  duty,  and  dismissed 
her.' 

A  few  days  later,  Madame  de  Pompadour  accompanied 
the  Court  to  Choisy,  which  had  just  been  refurnished, 
presumably  in  her  honour,  and  where  the  King  gave  a 
very  cold  reception  to  his  father-in-law,  poor  old  Stanis- 
las Leczinska,  the  dethroned  King  of  Poland,  who, 
happening  to  visit  him  unexpectedly,  surprised  his 
Majesty  playing  cards  in  his  private  apartments  with 
the  new  favourite  in  her  riding-habit. 

At  the  beginning  of  October,  the  Court  moved  as  usual 
to  Fontainebleau,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  took  pos- 
session of  the  suite  of  apartments  which  Madame  de 
Chateauroux  had  formerly  occupied.  Not  long  after 
her  arrival  she  had  a  slight  illness,  and  was  bled,  bleeding 
being  at  this  period  considered  a  remedy  for  almost  every 
disease  known  to  science.  In  consequence,  she.  was  un- 
able to  appear  that  evening  at  the  King's  supper-party, 
which  caused  the  monarch,  we  are  told,  much  uneasiness. 
"In  the  middle  of  supper,"  says  the  Due  de  Luynes, 
"  his  Majesty  rose  from  the  table,  to  go  and  ascertain  the 
latest  news  about  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  to  keep 
her  company.  He  remained  with  her  some  little  time, 
and  when  he  returned  to  the  dining-room,  sent  to  her 

'   Memo'tres  du  Comte  de  Maurepas^  iv.   1 74. 
60 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

first  M.  de  Meuse  and  afterwards  M.  de  Soubise,  in 
order  that  she  might  not  be  left  by  herself."  ^ 

It  was  while  at  Fontainebleau,  that  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour received  intelligence  of  the  death  of  her  mother, 
which  took  place  on  Christmas  Eve  1745.  Madame 
Poisson  had,  indeed,  been  dying  for  some  months ;  but 
her  delight  at,  what  one  writer  calls,  the  "  glorious  dis- 
honour" of  her  daughter  had  helped  to  prolong  her  days, 
and  she  had  utilised  this  short  respite  from  the  grave  to 
discuss  with  the  new  favourite  the  policy  which  it  would 
be  advisable  for  her  to  pursue  in  order  to  safeguard  her 
conquest. 

Her  mother's  early  death — she  was  only  forty-six — 
deeply  affected  the  marchioness.  For  several  days  she 
shut  herself  up  in  her  apartments  and  refused  to  see 
any  one.  Her  grief,  indeed,  was  such  that  the  King 
wished  to  postpone  a  visit  to  Marly  that  the  Court  was 
about  to  make,  and  in  view  of  which  the  ladies  had 
gone  to  considerable  expense  in  the  matter  of  costumes. 
But  this  Madame  de  Pompadour,  with  characteristic 
tact,  would  by  no  means  permit,  declaring  that  the 
death  of  her  mother  was  not  a  matter  of  such  import- 
ance as  to  necessitate  the  alteration  of  the  arrangements 
of  the  Court,  and  that  the  ladies  would  have  a  right 
to  complain  if  the  proposed  visit  was  cancelled  at  the 
eleventh  hour. 

During  her  stay  at  Fontainebleau,  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour lived  a  very  quiet  life,  seldom  leaving  her  apart- 
ments, except  to  sup  with  the  King,  or  pay  her  devoirs 
to  the  Queen.  She  had,  however,  brought  an  admirable 
chef  with  her,  and  gave  small,  but  charming  supper-parties 
on  the   evenings   when    Louis    dined   au  grand  convert. 

^  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  vii,  93. 
61 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

She  seems,  moreover,  to  have  spent  a  good  deal  of  her 
time  in  taking  lessons  in  the  minutiae  of  Court  etiquette, 
and  such  like  matters,  from  her  friend  Madame  de 
Tencin,  and  thus  preparing  herself  for  that  arduous 
struggle  to  maintain  her  position  which  she  knew  would 
begin  in  earnest  when  the  Court  returned  to  Versailles. 


62 


CHAPTER    V 

Installation  of  the  new  favourite  at  Versailles — Hostility  of  the 
ladies  of  the  Court — Of  the  Dauphin  and  Mesdames — And  of 
the  Parisians — The  Poissonades — The  Comte  de  Maurepas — 
His  endeavours  to  cast  ridicule  upon  the  favourite — Madame 
de  Pompadour  determines  to  form  a  party  of  her  own — Her 
efforts  to  conciliate  the  Queen  attended  with  success — Her 
letter  to  the  Duchesse  de  Luynes — The  Queen  refuses  to  allow 
Madame  de  Pompadour  to  officiate  as  a  Queteuse  at  Easter — 
The  favourite  gains  the  friendship  of  the  Princesse  de  Conti 
— And  concludes  an  alliance  with  the  brothers  Paris — They 
contrive  the  fall  of  Orry — And  of  the  Marquis  d'Argenson 
— The  favourite  wins  over  Saint-Severin  and  Belle-Isle — 
Madame  de  Pompadour's  relations  with  Louis  XV. — The 
King's  eternal  ennui  the  secret  of  her  influence  over  him — Her 
extraordinary  skill  in  diverting  the  monarch — She  encourages 
him  to  neglect  the  duties  of  sovereignty — The  petits  soupers — 
Visit  of  the  King  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  Havre. 

When,  ten  years  earlier,  Madame  de  Mailly  had  become 
the  acknowledged  mistress  of  Louis  XV.,  the  general 
opinion  seems  to  have  been  that,  as  apparently  it  was 
too  much  to  expect  that  a  King  of  France  should 
remain  faithful  to  his  consort,  Louis  had  shown  a  very 
proper  sense  of  the  duty  he  owed  his  subjects  in  select- 
ing for  the  object  of  his  attentions  a  member  of  one 
of  the  oldest  families  in  the  realm,  and  that  so  long 
as  he  confined  himself  to  the  daughters  of  the  noblesse 
no  one  had  any  right  to  complain.^ 

1  Journal  de  Barb'ier,  \\i.  113. 
63 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Very  different  was  the  feeling  which  the  elevation  of 
Madame  d'Etioles  aroused.  The  whole  Court  was  up  in 
arms  at  such  a  scandalous  breach  of  the  traditions  of  the 
monarchy.  The  mere  fact  that  this  middle-class  woman, 
this  '"'' rohine'''' — as  even  that  most  democratic  oi  grands 
seigneurs^  the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  calls  her — should  have 
dared  to  aspire  to  a  position  which  had  always  been  re- 
garded as  the  peculiar  appanage  of  the  nobility  was  an 
unheard  of  piece  of  presumption  ;  that  she  should  have 
succeeded  in  her  designs  was  an  intolerable  outrage.  All 
the  jealousy  and  hatred  with  which  the  constantly  in- 
creasing wealth  and  injfluence  of  the  class  to  which 
Madame  d'Etioles  belonged  was  regarded  by  the  aristo- 
cracy seemed  to  converge  upon  the  devoted  head  of 
the  new  mistress,  until  for  the  moment  it  appeared 
that  the  fruits  of  her  hardly  won  victory  must  inevitably 
be  snatched  from  her. 

It  was,  of  course,  from  her  own  sex  that  Madame  de 
Pompadour  had  to  encounter  the  most  violent  hostility. 
The  Court  ladies,  forgetting  for  the  nonce  their  own 
differences  in  the  face  of  this  common  enemy,  banded 
themselves  together  to  ridicule  and  discredit  her.  "They 
spied  upon  her,  they  studied  her,  they  analysed  her 
accent  and  her  manners,  they  sneered  at  her  ignorance 
of  Court  etiquette,  they  mocked  at  the  little  bourgeois 
expressions  which  the  journey  from  Paris  to  Versailles 
had  not  been  long  enough  to  enable  her  to  entirely 
forget."  ^  In  short,  there  was  a  conspiracy  among  these 
high-born  dames,  none  the  less  to  be  dreaded  because 
it  happened  to  be  an  informal  one,  to  arouse  against 
the  new  favourite  the  King's  sense  of  the  ludicrous, 
and  to  make  him  ashamed  of  his  choice  by  magnifying 

1  Les  Mattresses  de  Louts  XV. y  i.  206. 
64 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  exaggerating  all  the  shortcomings  inevitable  in  the 
case  of  a  woman  who  finds  herself  for  the  first  time  in 
her  life  in  the  midst  of  a  society  so  different  from  that 
to  which  she  has  been  accustomed. 

The  Queen,  as  we  have  seen,  was  disposed  to  treat 
Madame  de  Pompadour  with  courtesy;  but  the  Dauphin, 
to  whom  his  former  tutor,  the  Bishop  of  Mirepoix,  had 
succeeded  in  imparting  not  a  little  of  his  own  bigotry, 
and  his  sisters,  who  were  also  under  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuits,  bitterly  resented  their  royal  father's  conduct,  and 
were  at  no  pains  to  conceal  their  antipathy  to  the  mar- 
chioness. On  one  occasion  at  a  hunting  party,  when 
the  King  had  desired  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  enter  a 
carriage  in  which  were  his  son  and  two  of  the  princesses, 
they  evinced  their  disgust  by  absolutely  ignoring  her 
presence,  and  declining  to  answer  one  or  two  questions 
which  she  ventured  to  address  to  them ;  while  the 
Dauphin,  who,  though  a  pious  youth,  possessed  an  ex- 
tremely bitter  tongue,  was  continually  indulging  in  biting 
hon-mots  at  her  expense. 

The  malice  of  the  Court  spread  to  the  city ;  the 
murmurs  of  the  ante-chamber  descended  to  the  street, 
and  turned  against  Madame  de  Pompadour  the  ribald 
insults  of  the  most  licentious  rabble  in  Europe.  The 
cobblers  and  fishwives  of  Paris,  among  whom  her  father's 
drunkenness  and  her  mother's  gallantries  had  long  been 
by-words,  were  not  one  whit  behind  the  polished  lords  and 
ladies  of  Versailles  in  pouring  ridicule  upon  the  favourite  ; 
for  they,  too,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  resented  their  ruler's 
departure  from  the  custom  observed  by  his  predecessors, 
while  the  arrogance  and  exactions  of  the  farmers-general 
with  whom  she  was  connected  were  as  odious  to  them  as 
were  the  social  pretensions  of  the  same  class  to  the  noblesse. 

65  E 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

Just  as,  a  century  before,  the  animosity  of  the  Parisians 
against  Mazarin  had  found  vent  in  a  storm  of  lampoons, 
so  now  the  same  effective  weapons  were  employed  against 
Madame  de  Pompadour.  The  Poissonades^  if  they  lacked 
the  wit  of  the  Mazarinades^  far  excelled  them  in  bitter- 
ness, and  abounded  in  the  coarsest  personalities.  The 
following  verses,  which  the  marchioness  always  asserted 
to  have  been  the  work  of  Maurepas,  the  Minister  of 
Marine,  and  which  were  sung  to  the  air  of  an  opera 
song  then  all  the  rage,  will  convey  some  idea  of  the 
popular  feeling  in  the  matter : — 

**  Une  petite  bourgeoise 
Elevee  a  la  grivoise, 
Mesurant  tout  k  sa  toise, 
Fait  de  la  cour  un  taudis,  dis,  dis. 
Le  roi,  malgre  son  scrupule, 
Pour  elle  fortement  brule, 
Cette  flame  ridicule 
Excite  dans  tout  Paris,  ris,  ris. 

Cette  catin  subalterne, 

Insolemment  le  gouverne, 

Et  c'est  elle  qui  ddcerne 

Les  honneurs  a  prix  d'argent,  gent,  gent. 

Devant  I'idole  tout  plie, 

Le  courtisan  s'humilie  ; 

II  subit  cette  infamie, 

Et  n'est  que  plus  indigent,  gent,  gent." 

Then  follow  some  verses  in  which  the  favourite 
is  described  as  possessing  "  wrinkled  skin,  speckled 
teeth,  colourless  eyes,  a  long  neck,  and  a  flat  figure "  ; 
and  the  poet  concludes  by  declaring  that  if  the 
King's  choice  had  fallen  upon  a  beautiful  woman, 
one  might  have  found  it  in  one's  heart  to  pardon 
him,   but,   as  matters   stood,    the   most   charitable    sup- 

66 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

position    was    to   conclude    that    he    had    become    "/o«, 
fou^  four  -^ 

The  Comte  de  Maurepas,  who  was  credited  with 
being  the  author  of  this  effusion,  was  a  frivolous, 
dissipated  man  of  forty-five,  by  no  means  destitute 
of  ability,  however,  and  noted  for  his  powers  of 
mimicry  and  his  mordant  wit.  "  His  eye,"  says 
Marmontel,  "  instantly  seized  what  was  weak  and 
ridiculous  in  men ;  with  imperceptible  art  he  drew 
them  into  his  snare  or  led  them  on  to  his  purpose ; 
with  an  art  still  more  formidable  he  could  cast 
ridicule  on  everything,  even  on  merit  itself,  when  he 
wished  to  undervalue  it,"  ^  Maurepas  had  been  a 
thorn  in  the  side  of  Madame  de  Chiteauroux  and  had 
now  transferred  his  enmity  to  her  successor,^  inspiring, 
if  he  did  not  actually  write,  most  of  the  Poissonades, 
and  at  the  supper  -  parties  of  his  intimate  friends 
mimicking  Madame  de  Pompadour's  little  oddities  of 
speech  and  gesture  to  such  perfection  as  to  send  every 
one  present  into  convulsions  of  laughter.  Ridicule, 
however,  is  a  dangerous  weapon  and  very  apt  to  recoil 
upon  him  who  employs  it  too  freely,  a  fact  which 
Maurepas  was  one  day  to  discover  to  his  cost. 

Thus   harassed   on  all   sides,  Madame  de  Pompadour 
perceived  the   necessity    of   taking   steps   to    counteract 

^  Memolres  du  Comte  de  Maurepas^  iv.  266. 

2  Memolres  de  Marmontel,  iii.  282. 

3  "This  remarkable  Minister,  who  had  built  up  his  influence  and 
retained  it  by  a  thousand  trifling  accomplishments — songs,  tittle-tattle, 
epigrams,  gossip.  Maurepas,  whose  principal  idea  of  governing  was  to 
please  and  amuse,  and  who  ruled  like  a  woman  and  by  the  same  means, 
naturally  looked  upon  women  as  rivals,  and  upon  the  amours  of  his  master 
as  slights  upon  his  own  powers  of  diverting  him." — E.  and  J.  de 
Goncourt's  La  Duchesse  de  Chdteauroux  et  ses  saurs,  p.  197. 

67 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  machinations  of  her  enemies  and,  accordingly, 
began  to  look  about  her  for  allies.  She  soon  decided 
that  if  she  could  by  any  means  succeed  in  gaining 
the  favour  of  the  Queen,  she  could  afford  to  ignore 
the  hostility  of  the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family,  who, 
though  they  might  annoy,  would  be  powerless  to 
injure  her,  and  she  would  then  be  free  to  deal  with 
her  foes  at  Court  and  in  the  Ministry.  With  this  end 
in  view,  she  allowed  no  opportunity  to  slip  of  ingra- 
tiating herself  with  Marie  Leczinska,  and  invariably 
showed  herself  most  attentive  and  respectful  when- 
ever the  latter  happened  to  address  her — conduct  in 
marked  contrast  to  that  of  Madame  de  Chateauroux, 
who  had  treated  the  poor  Queen  with  but  scant  courtesy, 
and  which  was  by  no  means  without  its  effect  upon 
the  King,  who,  it  began  to  be  remarked,  now  exhibited 
more  consideration  for  his  wife  than  he  had  shown  for 
some  years.-^ 

The  Queen,  aware  that  the  change  in  her  husband's 
demeanour  was  largely  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
new  favourite,  and  touched  by,  what  she  believed  to 
be,  the  latter's  kindness,  treated  her  with  marked 
graciousness,  even  going  so  far  as  to  invite  her  to  a 
meeting  in  her  apartments,  which  was  to  be  followed 
by  a  sermon  in  aid  of  some  charity.  Madame  de 
Pompadour    was    unwell    on    the    evening    in    question 

1  The  King  had  not  made  his  consort  any  New  Year's  gift  for 
several  years,  but  in  1746  he  presented  her  with  a  gold  snufF-box,  on 
one  side  of  which  was  a  watch.  The  Queen  was  highly  delighted  and 
regarded  it  as  a  mark  of  returning  affection  ;  but  her  pleasure  was  of 
short  duration,  for  a  few  days  later  it  transpired  that  the  snufF-box  had 
been  intended  for  the  estimable  Madame  Poisson,  who,  however,  had  not 
lived  to  receive  it, 

68 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

and    unable    to    be    present,    but    took  care    to   send    a 
donation  with  her  excuses. 

Not  long  after  this,  the  astute  favourite  pretended 
to  have  observed  a  coldness  on  the  part  of  the  Queen 
towards  her,  and  hastening  to  the  Duchesse  de  Luynes, 
her  Majesty's  lady-of-honour  and  confidante,  besought 
her,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  to  endeavour  to  ascertain 
what  she  had  done  to  displease  her  mistress,  declaring 
that  she  would  be  inconsolable  were  she  to  forfeit 
the  Queen's  good  opinion.  The  duchess,  who  was  a 
simple-minded  old  lady,  complied  with  her  request  and 
wrote  to  her  as  follows  : — 


The  Duchesse  de  Luynes  to  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

"I  have  just  spoken  to  the  Queen,  madame,  and 
earnestly  entreated  her  to  tell  me  frankly  whether 
she  had  any  cause  of  complaint  against  you.  She 
has  answered  in  the  kindest  manner  possible  that  she 
was  indeed  very  sensible  of  the  pains  which  you  have 
taken  to  please  her  on  all  occasions,  and  has  desired 
me  to  write  to  you  to  that  effect." 

To  which  the  marchioness  replied  : — 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  the  Duchesse  de  Luynes. 

"  You  give  me  back  my  life,  Madame  la  Duchesse. 
For  the  last  three  days  my  misery  has  been  indescrib- 
able— a  statement  which  you,  who  are  aware  of  my 
devotion  to  the  Queen,  will  not  find  it  difficult  to 
believe.  The  blackest  calumnies  have  been  brought 
against    me    by    those    about    the    persons    of    M.    and 

69 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Madame  la  Dauphine.  They  themselves  have  had  the 
kindness  to  permit  me  to  prove  how  baseless  these 
horrible  charges  are.  Some  days  ago,  I  was  informed 
that  the  Queen  had  been  turned  against  me ;  judge 
of  my  despair,  I  who  would  lay  down  my  life  for 
her  whose  good  opinion  becomes  every  day  more 
precious  to  me.  It  is  certain  that  the  greater  her 
goodness  to  me,  the  more  the  monsters  who  surround 
us  will  seek  to  multiply  their  shameful  accusations, 
unless  she  has  the  kindness  to  be  on  her  guard  against 
them  and  is  willing  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of  defend- 
ing myself  against  my  calumniators,  in  which  case  it 
will  be  easy  for  me  to  clear  my  character.  My  own 
tranquillity  of  mind  in  regard  to  this  matter  answers 
for  me.  I  trust,  madame,  that  your  friendship  for 
me  will  be  sufficient  guarantee  that  my  request  will 
be  granted.  Doubtless,  I  have  wearied  you  with  this 
long  recital  of  my  troubles,  but  I  have  so  sensitive  a 
heart  that  it  is  beyond  my  power  to  conceal  them. 
You  are  aware  of  my  sentiments  for  you,  madame ; 
they  will  endure  as  long  as  I  live.'* 

But  if  the  Queen,  from  her  natural  kindness  of  heart 
and  her  desire  to  prevent  scandal,  appeared  willing, 
when  the  question  was  one  which  concerned  herself 
alone,  to  ignore  the  injury  Madame  de  Pompadour  had 
done  her,  in  matters  connected  with  religion  she  sternly 
refused  to  close  her  eyes  to  the  position  occupied  by 
the  marchioness. 

At  the  end  of  Lent  1746,  the  favourite,  emboldened 
by  Marie  Leczinska's  apparent  complaisance,  had  the 
temerity  to  ask  permission  to  hold  one  of  the  plates 
at  the  quite  on  Holy  Thursday.     To  a  woman  of  the 

70 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Queen's  religious  convictions  such  a  request  seemed  little 
short  of  an  insult,  but,  unwilling  to  wound  the  lady's 
feelings,  she  contented  herself  by  sending  through  her 
dame  d'honneur  a  diplomatic  refusal,  to  the  effect  that, 
while  much  touched  by  this  new  proof  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  anxiety  to  please  her,  she  was  compelled 
to  accept  the  will  for  the  deed,  as  all  the  plates  had 
already  been  distributed.  When,  however,  a  few  days 
later,  the  marchioness,  who  was  aware  that  there  was 
a  vacancy  among  the  queteuses  chosen  for  Easter  Sunday, 
once  more  proffered  her  services,  the  Queen,  though 
warned  by  her  ladies-in-waiting  that  Madame  de 
Pompadour  was  probably  acting  on  the  King's  instruc- 
tions, and  that  it  would,  therefore,  be  wiser  to  yield, 
replied  that  she  did  not  consider  her  a  fit  person  to 
take  part  in  a  ceremony  of  this  kind,  and  offered  the 
coveted  plate  to  Madame  de  Castries. 

To  the  credit  of  the  favourite  it  must  be  observed 
that  she  did  not  bear  the  Queen  any  ill-will  on  account 
of  this  timely  rebuke ;  and  a  few  days  afterwards  the 
latter,  evidently  desirous  of  making  amends  for  her 
refusal,  invited  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  join  her 
card-table. 

The  Queen  thus  won  over,  or,  at  least,  disarmed, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  succeeded  in  attaching  to  her 
interests  the  old  Princesse  de  Conti,  who  had  presented 
her  at  Court,  and  her  son,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  by 
artfully  stimulating  the  former's  jealousy  of  the  Conde 
and  Orleans  branches  of  the  Royal  Family,  and  by 
promising  to  use  her  influence  to  bring  about  the 
prince's  marriage  with  Madame  Adelaide,  Louis  XV.'s 
second  daughter. 

Her    next    move    was    a    far    more     important    one, 

71 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

nothing  less  than  to  conclude  with  the  brothers  Paris/ 
the  celebrated  financiers,  who  were  at  that  moment 
the  only  persons  capable  of  providing  the  funds 
necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Court,  a  treaty  of  alliance,  whereby  they 
engaged  to  use  their  immense  influence  unsparingly 
on  her  behalf  in  return  for  certain  concessions  which 
she  was  to  obtain  for  them. 

The  first  result  of  this  rapprochement  was  the  dismissal 
of  Orry,  the  Comptroller-General,  who  seems  to  have 
been  an  honest  sort  of  man,  as  Ministers  of  Finance 
went  in  those  days,  and   had   offended   the  bankers  by 

^  The  brothers  Paris,  the  Rothschilds  of  those  days,  were  originally 
four  in  number  ;  the  eldest  was  named  Antoine,  the  second  Claude,  the 
third  Joseph,  better  known  as  Duverney,  and  the  youngest  Jean, 
commonly  called  Montmartel.  At  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking 
the  two  elder  brothers  were  dead.  They  were  the  sons  of  an  innkeeper 
of  Moras  in  Dauphin^,  whence  they  had  come  to  Paris  about  the  year 
1702.  They  began  business  as  army-contractors,  with  money  lent  them 
by  the  eccentric  Simon  Bernard,  and,  prospering  exceedingly,  opened  a 
bank,  and,  by  their  abilities  and  enterprising  spirit,  soon  acquired  great 
influence.  Quickly  perceiving  the  disastrous  results  which  must  inevitably 
follow  the  adoption  of  the  financial  schemes  of  the  Scotch  adventurer 
Law,  they  strove  to  prevent  it,  and  sent  a  memorial  on  the  subject  to  the 
Regent  Orleans,  for  which  Law,  then  all-powerful,  had  them  banished 
to  Dauphine.  When  the  Mississippi  crash  came,  they  were  recalled, 
and  entrusted  by  the  Regent  with  the  task  of  restoring  the  public  credit, 
which  they  successfully  accomplished,  in  spite  of  the  great  difficulties 
which  they  had  to  contend  with.  For  three  years  after  the  Regent's 
death,  Paiis-Duverney,  through  his  friendship  with  Madame  de  Prie, 
the  mistress  of  the  Due  de  Bourbon,  practically  ruled  the  country ; 
but  when  Fleury  became  Prime  Minister,  he  was  thrown  into  the  Bastille, 
where  he  remained  until  1728.  His  younger  brother,  Paris  de  Montmartel, 
was  banker  to  the  Court,  and  so  powerful,  that  he  was  popularly  believed 
to  fix  the  current  rate  of  interest.  He  amassed  a  colossal  fortune,  which, 
after  his  death  in  1766,  was  soon  squandered  by  his  son,  the  prodigal 
Marquis  de  Brunoy. 

72 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

his  refusal  to  pass  certain  accounts  of  theirs  relating  to 
the  provisioning  of  the  army,  and  the  favourite  by  his 
endeavours  to  check  the  prodigality  in  which  she  was 
encouraging  the  King,  so  economical  with  his  former 
mistresses.  The  charge  brought  against  Orry  was  that 
of  nepotism,  an  offence  not  entirely  unknown  in  our 
own  time,  and  so  general  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  a  Minister  who  failed  in  his  duty  to  his 
relatives  would  have  been  regarded  with  unbounded 
astonishment.  However,  it  served  its  purpose,  and 
though  the  King  made  a  feeble  protest,  he  soon  yielded 
when  the  brothers  Paris  refused  to  advance  a  sou  so 
long  as  Orry  retained  his  post.  The  dismissed  Mini- 
ster was  succeeded  by  Machault,  the  Intendant  of 
Valenciennes,  who  had  rendered  great  service  to 
Marechal  Saxe  in  the  campaign  of  1745  ;  while  the 
office  of  Director-General  of  the  Board  of  Works, 
which  had  hitherto  been  joined  to  that  of  Comptroller- 
General,  was  separated  from  it  and  given  to  Lenormant 
de  Tournehem,  until  such  time  as  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's brother,  Abel  Poisson,  who  had  lately  blossomed 
into  the  Marquis  de  Vandieres,  should  be  of  fitting  age 
to  fill  the  post. 

After  the  Comptroller-General  it  was  the  turn  of  the 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  the  Marquis  d'Argenson.^ 
This  able  and  far-sighted  statesman,  of  whom  Voltaire 
once  said  that  he  was  worthy  to  be  Secretary  of  State 
in  the  Republic  of  Plato,  had  cherished  schemes  which, 
could  he  but  have  reckoned  on  the  support  of  the  King 

^  The  Marquis  d'Argenson,  who  was  the  author  of  the  charming 
Memo'tres,  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  his  younger  brother,  the 
Comte  d'Argenson,  the  Minister  for  War,  of  whom  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak  hereafter. 

73 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  his  colleagues  in  the  Ministry,  might  have  raised 
France  once  more  to  the  position  in  Europe  which 
she  had  occupied  in  the  palmy  days  of  Louis  XIV. 
His  policy  embraced  an  independent  Italy;  a  Poland 
rescued  from  anarchy  by  the  dynasty  which  had  been 
the  instrument  of  her  decline — the  House  of  Saxony ; 
a  renewal  of  the  French  alHance  with  Holland;  the 
humbling  of  Austria  through  the  support  of  Prussia ; 
and  the  curtailing  of  the  growing  maritime  and  com- 
mercial influence  of  Great  Britain  by  united  action  on 
the  part  of  the  other  Powers.^  Such  a  man,  however, 
was  quite  out  of  place  in  the  frivolous  and  incompetent 
Cabinet  of  Versailles.  The  dandies  of  the  Court 
laughed  at  his  careless  dress,  his  awkward  manners, 
and  his  slow  speech,  and  nicknamed  him  "  d'Argenson 
la  bete.""  The  very  success  which  had  attended  one 
of  his  plans  proved  his  undoing.  He  had  succeeded 
in  September  1746  in  marrying  the  Dauphin — en  secondes 
noces — the  ill-fated  Infanta  Maria  Theresa  had  died  in 
giving  birth  to  a  daughter  a  few  months  before  — 
to  a  daughter  of  Augustus  III.,  Elector  of  Saxony 
and  King  of  Poland.  By  so  doing  he  had  incurred 
the  enmity  of  the  Spanish  Court,  who  had  wished  to 
replace  the  deceased  Infanta  by  her  sister,  for  which 
union  they  had  already  taken  steps  to  obtain  the  Papal 
dispensation.  The  Due  de  Noailles,  a  pliant  courtier, 
who  had  been  a  devotee  during  the  last  years  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  a  libertine  under  the  Regency,  had  been 
sent  on  a  mission  to  Madrid,  whence,  unknown  to 
the  Foreign  Minister,  he  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  the  King,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  beginning 
of  that  secret  diplomacy  of  Louis  XV.,  the  extent  and 

^  Martin's  H'lstoire  de  France  jus qu^ en  1789,  xv.  293  et  seq. 
74 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

importance  of  which  have  only  recently  been  revealed 
through  the  investigations  of  the  late  Due  de  Broglie.^ 
Noailles  had  always  made  a  point  of  being  on  good 
terms  with  the  King's  mistress  for  the  time  being,  just 
as  Maurepas  had  of  opposing  her,  and  now,  acting  in 
concert  with  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  the  brothers 
Piris,  who  were  desirous  of  replacing  the  upright 
d'Argenson  by  a  creature  of  their  own — the  Marquis 
de  Puisieux — he  persistently  exaggerated  the  resentment 
of  the  Spanish  Court,  declaring  that  nothing  would 
satisfy  it  but  the  dismissal  of  the  Minister  who  had 
been  responsible  for  the  Saxon  marriage.  Once  more 
the  feeble  King  yielded  against  his  better  judgment ; 
and  in  January  1747  d'Argenson  was  dismissed,  and 
Puisieux  reigned  in  his  stead.  In  after  years  Madame 
de  Pompadour  had  cause  to  regret  the  part  she  had 
taken  in  bringing  about  the  fall  of  d'Argenson,  and  con- 
fessed that,  in  so  doing,  she  had  sinned  both  against  the 
King  and  the  public  interest ;  but  it  was  then  too  late. 

The  favourite  managed  to  secure  two  other  useful 
allies  about  this  time  in  the  persons  of  the  Comte  de 
Saint-S6verin  and  Marechal  de  Belle-Isle.  Saint-Severin 
was  an  Italian  by  birth,  who  had  come  originally  to  Paris 
as  the  Ambassador  of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  and  had  been 
induced  by  Fleury,  who  had  a  high  opinion  of  his 
diplomatic  capabilities,  to  enter  the  service  of  France. 
Like  most  adventurers,  he  had  his  price,  and  considered 
that  the  party  which  had  the  Paris  brothers  behind  it  was 
the  most  likely  to  be  able  to  pay  it. 

Belle-Isle,  whom  Carlyle  calls  "  the  last  of  the  grand 
old   Frenchmen,"  ^   was   a   very  different   kind   of   man. 

1  See  Broglie's  Le  Secret  du  Rot. 

2  Carlyle's  "Frederick,  the  Great,"  ix.  123. 

75 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  grandson  of  the  unfortunate  Fouquet,  whose  ill- 
gotten  wealth  had  brought  down  upon  him  the  wrath  of 
le  Grand  Monarque^  he  had  inherited  both  his  grandfather's 
talents  and  ambition.  His  head  was  full  of  the  wildest 
schemes  for  the  aggrandisement  of  France,  and  it  had 
been  largely  through  his  influence  that  Fleury  had  been 
forced  into  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  in  which, 
however,  Belle-Isle  had  earned  undying  renown  by  his 
gallant  defence  of  Prague  and  the  masterly  manner  in 
which  he  had  subsequently  conducted  the  retreat  of  the 
garrison  to  Eger  through  the  midst  of  an  enemy's 
country  and  in  the  depth  of  winter.^  The  marshal  was 
not,  of  course,  amenable  to  the  arguments  which  had 
proved  so  efficacious  in  the  case  of  the  Paris  brothers  and 
Saint-Severin,  but  he  had  a  weakness — he  was  very 
susceptible  to  flattery ;  and  this  Madame  de  Pompadour 
discovered  and  played  upon  with  great  adroitness,  always 
deferring  to  his  opinion  and  informing  him  that  "  the 
King  regarded  him  as  the  greatest  general  he  possessed, 
and  also  the  most  honourable  and  loyal  of  his  subjects." 
Such  praise  from  the  lips  of  a  pretty  woman  was  extremely 
gratifying  to  the  old  soldier,  who  soon  came  to  regard 
the  favourite  as  a  very  amiable  and  intelligent  person. 

^  " '  Comparable  to  the  retreat  of  Xenophon  !  '  cry  many.  Every 
retreat  is  compared  to  that.  A  valiant  feat  after  all  exaggeration.  A 
thing  well  done,  say  military  men — *  nothing  to  object,  except  that  the 
troops  were  so  ruined ' ;  and  the  most  unmilitary  may  see  it  is  the  work 
of  a  high  and  gallant  kind  of  man.  One  of  the  coldest  expeditions  ever 
known.  There  have  been  three  expeditions  or  retreats  of  this  kind  which 
were  very  cold :  that  of  those  Swedes  in  the  Great  Elector's  time  (not 
to  mention  that  of  Karl  XI I. 's  army  out  of  Norway  after  poor  Karl 
XII.  got  shot) ;  that  of  Napoleon  from  Moscow  ;  this  of  Belle-Isle, 
which  is  the  only  one  brilliantly  conducted,  and  not  ending  in  rout  and 
annihilation." — Carlyle's  "Frederick  the  Great,"  v.  i8o. 

76 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  while  Madame  de 
Pompadour  was  thus  engaged  in  fortifying,  so  to  speak, 
the  approaches  to  the  citadel  which  she  had  stormed,  she 
was  in  any  way  neglectful  of  her  conquest  itself.  She 
was  well  aware  that  the  complaisance  of  the  Queen,  the 
support  of  the  brothers  Paris,  the  servility  of  Puisieux, 
and  the  friendship  of  Belle-Isle  would  avail  her  but  little 
if  once  her  ascendency  over  the  King's  heart  began  to 
wane ;  and  while  thus  struggling  against  the  Royal 
Family,  the  Court,  and  the  Ministry,  she  had  contrived, 
by  carefully  studying  the  tastes  and  temperament  of  her 
lover,  and  making  it  the  business  of  her  life  to  conform 
to  and  humour  them,  to  gradually  render  herself  indis- 
pensable to  his  happiness. 

There  are  many  circumstances  in  the  life  of  kings 
which,  as  Lord  Bacon  said  in  another  sense,  are  calculated 
to  blunt  the  edge  of  envy,  and  not  the  least  of  these  is 
that  feeling  of  weariness  and  disgust  with  their  surround- 
ings which  is  the  inevitable  outcome  of  having  early  run 
through  the  whole  gamut  of  pleasure.  But  of  all  the 
kings  who  ever  wore  a  crown  none  was  more  ennuye  than 
Louis  XV.  Ennui  was  not  with  him,  as  with  le  Grand 
Monarque^  the  tardy  fruit  of  old  age  and  disappointed 
ambition ;  it  was  a  chronic  malady,  which  had  afflicted 
him  from  his  boyhood  and  in  the  most  prosperous  years 
of  his  reign — a  malady  which  rendered  impotent  all  the 
faculties  with  which  nature  had  endowed  him,  which 
enfeebled  his  will,  which  stifled  the  voice  of  conscience, 
which  rendered  him  alike  indifl^srent  to  the  claims  of 
duty  and  the  dictates  of  honour,  which,  in  short,  degraded 
monarchy  itself  in  his  person,  until  the  witty  Abbe 
Galiani  declared  that  "  Louis  had  made  the  trade  of  king 
the  most  ignoble  one  in  the  whole  world." 

77 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

It  is  to  this  unhappy  trait  in  Louis  XV. 's  character 
that  we  must  look  for  the  source  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  influence,  the  secret  of  that  long  domina- 
tion, which  ended  only  with  life.  She  had  very  soon 
made  the  discovery  that  of  all  ways  of  pleasing  the 
monarch  none  would  have  greater  power  to  bind  him 
to  her  than  that  of  amusing  him,  and  for  that  task, 
fortunately  for  the  success  of  her  schemes,  no  woman  in 
France  was  better  qualified.  Had  she  possessed  nothing 
but  beauty  and  ordinary  accomplishments,  her  reign,  in 
the  face  of  the  violent  opposition  which  she  had  to 
encounter,  would  not  have  lasted  a  twelvemonth.  But 
she  had  far  more  valuable  resources  than  these  at  her 
command  ;  she  had  patience,  she  had  tact,  above  all,  she 
had  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  the  art  of  pleasing :  of 
inventing  new  diversions  and  imparting  novelty  to  old, 
of  investing  with  interest  the  veriest  trifles — the  daily 
gossip  of  the  Court  and  the  town — by  her  skilful  mode 
of  handling  them.  "  That  in  which  she  most  excelled, 
however,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  "was  in  the  art 
of  never  prolonging  any  particular  amusement  beyond 
the  point  when  her  exquisite  discernment  taught  her  that 
it  might  conceivably  begin  to  pall,  and  thus  deprive  her 
of  some  of  the  credit  for  the  entertainment  she  had 
previously  affbrded."  ^ 

To  rescue  the  monarch  from  that  black  slough  of 
ennui  which  was  perpetually  threatening  to  engulf  him, 
and,  in  so  doing,  to  make  herself  necessary  to  his  very 
existence  was  henceforth   her   constant   and    daily   task, 

1  Histolre  de  la  Marquise  de  Pompadour,  a  curious  little  work  published 
in  1759  in  Holland,  and  immediately  suppressed  at  the  instance  of  the 
French  Ambassador.  A  few  copies,  however,  found  their  way  to 
England,  and  one  is  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 

78 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

and  the  genius  for  invention  which  she  exhibited  and 
the  variety  of  means  to  which  she  had  recourse  in  order 
to  accomplish  her  purpose  were  truly  astonishing.  To 
the  stereotyped  amusements  for  filling  up  the  void  of 
the  royal  days — the  chase,  the  card-table,  and  the  theatre 
- — she  added  frequent  changes  of  residence,  costly  build- 
ing operations,  the  taste  for  luxury  and  refinement.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  months  she  had  transformed  a  man 
naturally  niggardly  into  the  most  prodigal  prince  of  his 
time ;  but  if  she  took  full  advantage  of  the  King's 
increased  liberality,  it  was  less  from  the  desire  of 
assuring  to  herself  a  great  fortune  than  of  possessing 
the  means  to  initiate  her  lover  into  all  the  luxurious 
comfort  of  private  life  to  which  he  had  hitherto  been 
almost  a  stranger. 

Nor  was  this  all.  To  effect  the  object  which  she  had 
at  heart,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  upset  the  whole  machinery 
of  State.  Knowing  that  nothing  wearied  Louis  so  much 
as  the  transaction  of  public  business,  she  deliberately  set 
herself  to  stimulate  his  antipathy  to  mental  exertion, 
frequently  denying  him  to  his  Ministers,  and  sometimes 
even  to  the  foreign  Ambassadors,  and  encouraging  him 
to  forget  the  responsibilities  which  sovereignty  entailed, 
to  regard,  in  fact,  the  throne  of  France  as  a  kind  of 
magnificent  sinecure  the  duties  of  whose  occupant  should 
be  confined  to  now  and  again  scrawling  his  signature  at 
the  foot  of  a  sheet  of  parchment.  Hitherto  the  Ministers 
had  experienced  no  difficulty  in  approaching  the  King 
when  occasion  demanded  ;  now  private  audiences  were 
things  of  the  past,  for  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  in- 
variably present.  Hitherto  affairs  of  State  had  only 
bored  Louis  ;  now,  under  the  favourite's  tuition,  he  had 
come  to  regard  them  with  something  very  like  contempt. 

79 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

When,  not  infrequently  after  one  or  two  unsuccessful 
applications,  an  audience  had  been  granted,  and  the 
Secretary  for  War  or  the  Foreign  Minister  had  begun  to 
read  the  memorial  which  he  had  prepared,  the  King 
would  glance  at  Madame  de  Pompadour,  as  if  for 
encouragement,  and  then  commence  to  rally  the  reader 
on  his  seriousness,  or  even  burst  out  laughing ;  and  if, 
indignant  at  such  ill-timed  levity,  the  Minister  paused, 
the  monarch  would  exclaim,  "  Proceed,  monsieur,  pro- 
ceed ;  I  am  all  attention,"  at  the  same  time  making  a 
wry  face,  or  pretending  to  stifle  a  yawn. 

Sometimes  it  would  happen,  however,  that  the  matters 
brought  to  his  notice  were  of  such  gravity,  that  Louis 
was  compelled  to  listen,  in  spite  of  himself;  but  the 
marchioness  was  always  equal  to  the  occasion.  One  day 
Maurepas  was  reading  a  report  on  the  condition  of  the 
navy,  which  would  certainly  have  afforded  food  for  re- 
flection to  any  sovereign  not  entirely  lost  to  all  sense  of 
duty,  and  Louis  was  following  him  with  attention  not 
unmixed  with  alarm,^  when  Madame  de  Pompadour  sud- 
denly interposed  by  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  pray,  go  away, 
M.  de  Maurepas !  You  are  upsetting  the  King.  .  .  . 
Adieu,  M.  de  Maurepas  !  "  And  the  question  of  naval 
reform  was  postponed  sine  die !  ^ 

One  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  favourite  modes  of 
amusing    the    monarch   were   the  famous  petits   sotipers^ 

1  The  Due  de  Luynes  in  his  Memo'ires  (viii.  420)  gives  a  list  of  24 
French  men-of-war,  carrying  1200  guns,  and  manned  by  10,112  men, 
which  had  been  either  captured  or  totally  destroyed  by  the  English  from 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  in  1743  ^'^  '^^e  end  of  November  1747- 
A  large  proportion  of  these  ships  had  been  worsted  in  single  combat, 
though,  if  the  duke's  figures  are  correct,  the  conquerors  would  in  most 
cases  appear  to  have  been  superior  in  weight  of  metal. 

2  Memoir es  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  viii.  185. 

80 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

which  she  usually  gave  several  times  a  week  in  her  private 
apartments.  On  these  occasions  she  was  permitted  to 
invite  whom  she  pleased,  a  privilege  which  she  also 
enjoyed  when  Louis  himself  entertained.  The  most 
frequent  guests  were  the  Prince  de  Soubise,  the  general 
who  commanded  the  French  troops  in  the  fatal  battle  of 
Rossbach,  Madame  d'Estrades,  the  Due  d'Ayen,  Madame 
de  Bellefonds,  Madame  de  Sassenage,  the  little  Marechale 
de  Mirepoix/  a  great  ally  of  the  marchioness,  and,  in 
later  years,  of  her  successor  Madame  du  Barry,  and  the 
inevitable  Richelieu.  At  these  repasts,  which  were  of 
the  most  recherche  description,  for  the  favourite's  chef 
was  a  past-master  of  his  art,  and  at  which  champagne,  a 
wine  of  which  Louis  was  particularly  fond,  was  wont  to 
circulate  pretty  freely,  the  King  unbent,  royal  etiquette 
was  relaxed,  and  every  one  was  permitted  to  speak  with- 
out restraint,  and  even  to  rally  the  monarch. 

^  Anne  Gabrielle  de  Beauvau-Craon,  sister  of  the  Prince  de  Beauvau 
and  wife  of  Charles  Pierre  de  L^vis,  Marquis  and  afterwards  Due  de 
Mirepoix,  a  brave  soldier  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  War  of  the 
Austrian  Succession  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and 
was  French  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's  from  1749  to  1751. 
Madame  de  Mirepoix  was  at  the  time  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  "  ac- 
cession "  dame  du  palais  to  the  Queen.  The  Prince  de  Ligne  says  of 
her  in  one  of  his  letters  :  "  She  had  that  enchanting  talent  which  supplies 
the  means  of  pleasing  everybody.  You  would  have  sworn  that  she  had 
thought  of  nothing  but  you  all  her  life."  She  died  at  Brussels  in  1791, 
at  a  very  advanced  age,  preserving  her  wit  and  gaiety  to  the  last.  The 
day  of  her  death,  after  she  had  received  the  last  Sacraments,  her  physician 
thought  he  detected  a  slight  improvement  in  her  condition,  and  tcld  her 
so.  "  You  give  me  bad  news,"  she  replied  ;  "having  packed  up,  I  would 
prefer  to  go."  Her  husband,  Marechal  de  Mirepoix,  was  also  on  very 
friendly  terms  with  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  several  interesting  auto- 
graph letters,  written  by  the  favourite  to  him  while  he  was  Ambassador  in 
London,  may  be  seen  in  the  Manuscript  Room  at  the  British  Museum. 

81  F 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Strict  orders  were  issued  that  on  no  account  was  the 
King  to  be  disturbed  when  supping  with  the  marchioness, 
and  not  even  the  Ministers  were  allowed  to  enter.  In 
the  event  of  any  thing  of  unusual  importance  demanding 
attention,  as,  for  instance,  the  arrival  of  a  courier  from 
the  army,  application  for  an  audience  had  first  to  be 
made  in  writing  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who,  if  she 
considered  the  matter  of  sufficient  urgency,  granted  the 
requisite  permission ;  otherwise,  the  applicant  was  com- 
pelled to  wait  until  the  supper-party  dispersed.  One 
evening  the  Prince  de  Dombes,  one  of  the  princes  of 
the  blood,  having  been  entreated  by  the  Comtesse  de 
Toulouse  to  obtain  leave  of  absence  from  his  military 
duties  for  her  son,  who  had  been  seriously  ill,  was  forced 
to  go  in  person  to  the  favourite's  apartments  and  submit 
his  request  for  an  interview  with  the  King  in  the  usual 
way.  The  marchioness,  we  are  told,  was  graciously 
pleased  to  accede  to  it. 

Another  form  of  diversion  consisted  in  inducing  Louis 
to  frequently  change  his  place  of  residence.  Thus  she 
would  whirl  him  away  from  Versailles  to  Choisy,  from 
Choisy  to  Fontainebleau,  from  Fontainebleau  to  Marly, 
and  from  Marly  to  Compiegne,  spending  a  few  days  at 
each  place,  and  then  going  on  to  the  next.  When  Louis 
began  to  show  signs  of  tiring  of  the  royal  chateaux,  she 
conceived  the  idea  of  extending  their  expeditions  and 
carrying  the  King  and  his  ennui  on  a  tour  through  the 
whole  of  France.  So  she  persuaded  him  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Havre,^  where,  as  it  was  her  first  visit  to  the  sea,  some 

1  A  few  days  before  the  King  and  the  favourite  started  for  Havre,  Louis 
told  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen  that  he  intended  to  break  his  journey  at 
Gaillon,  where  the  archbishop  resided.  The  latter,  feeling  that  it  was 
hardly  compatible  with  his  dignity  to  receive  in  the  archiepiscopal  palace 

82 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

naval  mancEUvres  were  arranged  in  her  honour,  and  where 
she  was  invited  to  rivet  the  first  bolt  of  a  merchant  vessel, 
which  was,  in  consequence,  named  Le  Gracieux.  The 
expenses  of  this  little  trip,  however,  which  is  said  to 
have  cost  a  million  livres,  decided  the  King  to  confine 
his  excursions  in  future  to  the  neighbourhood  of  his 
capital. 

Finally,  Madame  de  Pompadour  bethought  herself  of 
diverting  her  royal  lover  by  an  entirely  novel  form  of 
amusement,  which,  however,  is  of  sufficient  importance 
to  warrant  a  chapter  to  itself. 

a  lady  in  the  position  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  contented  himself  by 
acknowledging  the  honour  which  the  monarch  proposed  to  do  him  by  a 
profound  reverence.  The  King,  under  the  impression  that  the  prelate  had 
misunderstood  him,  exclaimed,  "Did  you  hear  that  I  am  coming  to  pay 
you  a  visit  ?  "  The  archbishop  again  bowed,  but  remained  silent.  Louis 
thereupon  turned  angrily  on  his  heel,  remarking,  as  he  did  so,  "  No, 
monsieur,  I  would  rather  be  hanged  than  accept  your  hospitality." 


83 


CHAPTER    VI 

The  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements — Its  code  of  regulations 
— Composition  of  the  company — The  orchestra — Operas — 
Ballets — List  of  properties — Tickets  of  admission — Anxiety 
of  the  courtiers  to  gain  admittance — The  smallest  parts  eagerly 
contended  for — Anecdote  related  by  Madame  du  Hausset — 
Tartuffe  inaugurates  the  theatre — Le  Prejuge  a  la  mode  and 
U Esprit  de  Contradiction — Lcs  Trois  Cousines — The  Queen 
and  Mesdames  witness  the  performance  of  Erigone — The  Due 
de  Luynes's  criticism  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  acting — 
Success  of  the  performances — Alterations  in  the  theatre — Le 
Mariage  fait  et  rompu  and  Ismene — Mysterious  death  of  the 
Comte  de  Coigny  causes  the  postponement  of  Voltaire's  Enfant 
prodigue — Barbier's  version  of  this  affair — What  really  hap- 
pened— A  new  theatre  constructed  in  the  cage  of  the  Am- 
bassadors' staircase — Madame  de  Pompadour  as  Urania  and 
Venus — The  Due  de  Richelieu's  hostility  to  the  favourite — 
He  endeavours  to  interfere  with  the  performances — Violent 
quarrel  between  him  and  the  Due  de  la  Valliere — Louis  XV. 's 
tact — Reconciliation  between  the  marchioness  and  the  marshal 
— The  performances  transferred  from  Versailles  to  Bellevue — ■ 
Rousseau's  Le  Devin  du  Village — The  company  is  disbanded. 

It  happened  that  during  Holy  Week   1746  Madame  de 

Pompadour,  for  the  purpose  of  distracting  the  King  from 

the  religious   terrors  which   the  return  of  that   solemn 

season  never  failed  to  engender  in  his  superstitious  mind, 

had  given  in  her  private  apartments  a  series  of  sacred 

concerts,  at  which  she  herself  and  other  ladies  of  the  Court 

had  assisted  the  professional  artistes.     The  success  which 

84 


MADAME   DE  POMPADOUR 

had  attended  these  concerts  suggested  to  the  favourite 
the  idea  of  attempting  a  much  more  ambitious  kind  of 
entertainment,  namely,  to  construct  a  little  theatre  in  the 
Palace  of  Versailles  and  to  renew  there  before  the  King 
and  a  circle  of  intimate  friends  the  histrionic  triumphs 
which  she  had  enjoyed  on  the  boards  of  her  own  theatre 
at  Etioles  and  in  that  of  her  friend  Madame  de  Villemur 
at  Chantemerle. 

To  gain  Louis's  consent  to  her  scheme  was  a  matter 
of  little  difficulty,  for  he  was  only  too  ready  to  welcome 
any  amusement  which  bore  the  stamp  of  novelty,  and 
was,  besides,  curious  to  see  how  his  mistress  would  acquit 
herself  upon  the  stage,  having  already  heard  her  talents  in 
that  direction  highly  spoken  of  by  Richelieu,  who  had  seen 
her  perform  at  Chantemerle,  and  by  the  Due  de  Duras  and 
the  Due  de  Nivernois,  who  had  played  there  with  her. 

The  King's  consent  having  been  obtained,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  lost  no  time  in  putting  her  plan  into 
execution;  and  in  the  winter  of  1746-47  a  gallery  ad- 
joining the  Cabinet  des  Medailles  was  transformed  into  a 
perfectly  appointed  little  theatre,  which  received  the  name 
of  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements  (Theatre  of  the 
Private  Apartments), 

In  conjunction  with  the  monarch,  who  seemed  almost 
as  interested  as  herself  in  this  new  plan  for  his  diversion, 
she  then  proceeded  to  draw  up  a  code  of  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  the  company  which  she  intended  to  gather 
round  her : — 

I.  To  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  company,  it  is 
necessary  to  prove  that  it  is  not  the  first  time  one  has 
played  comedy,  so  that  novices  may  be  excluded. 

II.  Each  member  must  choose  the  kind  of  part  [emploi) 
he  intends  to  play. 

85 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

III.  No  one  will  be  permitted,  except  with  the  consent 
of  the  whole  company,  to  take  a  different  kind  of  part 
to  the  one  he  has  chosen. 

IV.  No  one  will  be  permitted,  in  case  of  absence,  to 
select  a  substitute  (that  is  a  privilege  expressly  reserved 
for  the  company  and  to  be  decided  by  a  majority  of 
votes). 

V.  The  absent  member  will  resume  his  part  on  his 
return. 

VI.  No  member  of  the  company  will  be  permitted  to 
refuse  a  role  belonging  to  his  emploi,  under  the  pretext 
that  it  is  unsuitable  or  too  fatiguing. 

The  above  six  rules  are  binding  on  actors  and  actresses 
alike. 

VII.  Only  the  actresses  have  the  privilege  of  selecting 
the  plays  which  are  to  be  performed. 

VIII.  They  have  also  the  privilege  of  choosing  the 
day  for  the  performance,  of  settling  the  number  of 
rehearsals,  and  of  fixing  the  day  and  the  hour  for 
them. 

IX.  Every  actor  must  attend  at  the  precise  hour  fixed 
for  rehearsal,  under  pain  of  a  fine,  which  the  actresses 
will  decide  upon  among  themselves. 

X.  The  actresses  only  are  allowed  half-an-hour's  grace, 
and  in  cases  where  it  is  exceeded,  they  themselves  will 
decide  upon  the  fine.^ 

The  next  business  was  the  selection  of  the  company, 
which  was  a  matter  of  some  little  difficulty,  for,  though 
there  was  a  host  of  candidates,  Madame  de  Pompadour 
was  determined  that  the  troupe  should  be  a  thoroughly 
efficient  one,  and,  by  the  first  rule,  novices  were  expressly 
excluded  ;  indeed,  it  was  only  after  much  persuasion  that 

^  Jullien's  Histolre  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  3. 

86 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

she  was  induced  to  waive  this  regulation  in  favour  of  the 
Due  de  Chartres,  eldest  son  of  the  Due  d' Orleans,  the 
first  prince  of  the  blood.  At  length,  however,  a  com- 
pany was  selected  which  promised  to  be  not  altogether 
unworthy  of  the  abilities  of  its  chief.  It  was  constituted 
as  follows : — 

Actors:  The  Due  de  Chartres,  the  Due  d'Ayen,  the 
Due  de  Nivernois,  the  Due  de  Duras,  the  Comte  de 
Maillebois,  the  Marquis  de  Courtenvaux,  the  Due  de 
Coigny,  and  the  Marquis  d'Entraigues. 

Actresses :  Madame  de  Pompadour,  the  dowager  Duch- 
esse  de  Brancas,  Madame  Trusson,  femme-de-chamhre  to 
the  Dauphiness,  the  Comtesse  de  Livry,  Madame  de  Pons, 
Madame  de  Sassenage,  and  the  beautiful  Madame  de 
Marchais,  who  was  distantly  related  to  the  favourite^ 
having  married  a  son  of  the  scheming  Binet. 

At  its  first  meeting  for  the  transaction  of  business,  the 
company  elected  as  its  stage-manager  the  Due  de  la 
Valliere ;  as  assistant  stage-manager,  the  Academician 
Moncrif,  the  historian  of  cats ;  and  as  its  secretary  and 
prompter,  the  Abbe  de  la  Garde,  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's librarian.  Two  professional  actresses  from  the 
Comedie  FranQaise  were  engaged  to  superintend  the 
rehearsals  and  give  the  less  experienced  members  the 
benefit  of  their  advice. 

The  orchestra  was  composed  partly  of  amateur  and 
partly  of  professional  musicians.  Among  the  former 
were  the  Prince  de  Dombes,  who  played  the  bassoon ; 
Courtaumer,  the  King's  cloak-bearer,  a  violinist  of  some 
skill ;  and  a  cousin  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  a  cer- 
tain M.  Ferrand,  whose  speciality  was  the  harpsichord. 
Among  the  professional  artistes  may  be  mentioned  the 
celebrated  Jeliotte  of  the  Opera,  the  happy  and  discreet 

87 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

conqueror  of  the  most  beautiful  ladies  in  Paris/  who 
had  given  Madame  de  Pompadour  her  first  music  lessons, 
and  Mondonville,  the  choirmaster  of  the  royal  chapel. 
Rebel,  a  famous  violinist,  was  the  conductor. 

Opera  was  played  as  well  as  the  drama,  but,  as  only 
three  members  of  the  original  company  —  Madame  de 
Pompadour  herself,  the  Duchesse  de  Brancas,  and  the 
Due  d'Ayen — had  voices  sufficiently  powerful  to  warrant 
them  performing  in  public,  their  choice  in  this  direction 
was  at  first  somewhat  limited.  Later,  however,  the 
voices  of  Madame  Trusson  and  Madame  de  Marchais 
improved  sufficiently  for  them  to  undertake  small  parts, 
and  the  vocalists  were  further  strengthened  by  the  in- 
clusion of  the  Vicomte  de  Rohan  and  the  Marquis  de  la 
Salle.^  The  chorus  was  chosen  from  the  choir  of  the  royal 
chapel,  in  order  of  seniority,  so  as  to  prevent  jealousy. 

Ballets  were  frequently  performed,  and  for  this  purpose 
the  services  of  a  number  of  children  from  nine  to  twelve 
years  old  were  engaged.  They  were  selected  and  trained 
by  Dehesse,  an  actor  from  the  Comedie  Italienne. 

There  were  also  four  danseurs  seuls^  all  of  whom  were 
amateurs.  The  Marquis  de  Courtenvaux,  the  premier^ 
the  Due  de  Beauvron,  the  Comte  de  Langeron,  and  the 
Comte  de  Melfort,  the  lover  of  the  beautiful  Duchesse 
de  Chartres. 

Perot    painted    the    scenery;    Perronet,    the    Worth 

1  Memo'ires  de  Marmontel,  i.  355- 

2  "  The  government  of  a  little  province  called  La  Marche,  which 
became  vacant  through  the  death  of  the  Marquis  de  Saint-Germain,  has 
been  given  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Salle.  Several  Marechals  de  France 
and  a  number  of  senior  lieutenant-generals  asked  for  it,  but  M.  de  la  Salle 
makes  himself  very  agreeable  in  the  Cabinets,  and  sings  in  a  very  superior 
manner  in  the  Operas  which  are  performed  there." — Memo'ires  du  Mar- 
quis d' Argenson,  vii.  24 1. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  those  days,  designed  the  costumes ;  and  Notrelle, 
"the  most  renowned  artiste  of  the  capital,"  attended 
to  the  coiffures.^ 

None  of  the  accessories  of  a  well-appointed  theatre 
were  wanting.  The  list,  which  we  extract  from  the 
Magasin  pittoresque  of  July  1842,  is  a  curious  one.  It 
includes  an  assortment  of  masks,  garlands  and  bouquets 
of  artificial  flowers,  tin  chains,  horsehair  crests,  boots 
a  la  romaine^  gold  and  silver  spangles,  artificial  jewellery, 
pasteboard  fowls  and  turkeys,  dancing  shoes  and  silk 
stockings,  12  staves  of  blue  and  silver,  12  gourds,  4 
spades,  4  silver  crosiers,  4  tambourines,  4  crowns  of 
laurel,  2  distaffs,  2  German  flutes,  a  bow  and  a  quiver 
of  arrows,  a  pasteboard  club,  an  iron  sickle,  a  perfuming 
pan,  a  sceptre  gilded  at  the  end,  a  trumpet  plated  with 
gold,  a  pasteboard  lyre,  a  magician's  wand,  a  wheel  of 
fortune  (valued  at  4  louis),  and  a  thunderbolt. 

Finally,  the  theatre  had  its  tickets.  "  On  a  card  the 
size  of  a  playing-card,  the  clever  pencil  of  Cochin  ^  has 

1  "  Some  years  later  Notrelle  inserted  in  an  almanack  the  following 
advertisement :  '  The  sieur  Notrelle,  perruquier  to  the  Menus  Pla'uirs  of 
the  King  and  to  all  the  theatres,  Place  du  Carrousel,  has  exhausted  the 
resources  of  his  art  to  imitate  the  wigs  of  gods,  demons,  heroes, 
shepherds,  tritons,  cyclopes,  naiads,  furies,  &c.  Although  these  persons, 
both  mythological  and  real,  were  unacquainted  with  the  custom,  his 
powerful  imagination  has  enabled  him  to  divine  what  would  have  been 
their  taste  in  this  direction,  had  the  fashion  of  wearing  wigs  existed  in 
their  time.  To  these  sublime  wigs  he  has  added  a  collection  of  beards 
and  moustaches  of  all  colours  and  shapes,  both  ancient  and  modern.'  " — 
Jullien's  Histoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour^  p.  7. 

2  Charles  Nicolas  Cochin,  the  younger,  a  member  of  a  famous  family 
of  painters  and  engravers.  He  accompanied  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
brother  on  his  tour  in  Italy  in  1749  (see  chap,  ix.),  and  on  his  return 
was  made  a  chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Saint-Michel  and  Secretary  to  the 
Academy  of  Painters. 

89 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

depicted,  on  a  balcony  supported  by  trestles,  a  Columbine, 
the  corsage  of  whose  dress  is  ornamented  with  bows  of 
ribbon,  like  the  gown  of  Silvia  in  La  Tour's  portrait/ 
She  affects  astonishment  and  plays  with  her  fan,  while 
at  her  side  L^ander,  in  ruffles,  bowing  to  the  wooden 
balustrade,  declares  his  love  under  the  nose  of  Pierrot, 
who  pushes  his  head  through  the  curtain  behind  them. 
Such  was  the  Open  Sesame  to  the  theatre  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour."  ^ 

These  artistic  tickets  were  far  from  easy  to  obtain. 
The  spectators  were  specially  chosen  by  the  King,  and 
as  it  was  deemed  a  great  honour  to  be  named  by  him, 
the  favourite,  with  whom,  of  course,  the  selection  really 
lay,  was  besieged  with  applications  for  admission,  and 
became  more  powerful  than  ever.  The  audience  was 
usually  composed  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  relatives 
and  friends,  what  might,  in  fact,  be  called  her  court — 
her  brother,  M.  de  Tournehem,  the  Abbe  de  Bernis, 
Madame  d'Estrades,  Madame  du  Roure,  and  the 
Marechale  de  Mirepoix,  who  had  a  place  reserved  for 
her  use  in  the  box  occupied  by  the  actresses  who  were 
not  on  duty,  together  with  any  influential  persons  whom 
the  marchioness  might  wish  to  propitiate,  Mar^chal 
Saxe,  President  Henault,  and  the  Comte  de  Guerchy, 
the  nobleman  who  had  such  a  terrible  time  when 
Ambassador  at  St.  James's,  some  years  later,  owing  to 
the  machinations  of  the  adventurer  d'Eon. 

But  great  as  was  the  desire  among  the  courtiers  to 
witness  the  performances,  it  was  nothing  in  comparison 
with  their  anxiety  to  be  allowed  to  appear,  even  for  a 
single  night,  upon  the  stage  of  the  little  theatre.     The 

1  La  Tour's  pastel  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  now  in  the  Louvre. 

2  Les  Mattresses  de  Louis  XV..,  i.  227. 

90 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

smallest  parts,  the  mere  utility  parts,  were  eagerly  con- 
tended for,  and  became  the  objects  of  flattery,  intrigues, 
and  even  bribery. 

"  At  the  time  that  plays  were  being  performed  in  the 
private  apartments,"  says  Madame  du  Hausset,  "  I 
obtained  a  lieutenancy  for  one  of  my  relations  in  a 
singular  manner,  which  shows  the  importance  which 
even  the  greatest  people  attach  to  the  slightest  access 
to  the  Court.  Madame  (Madame  de  Pompadour)  did 
not  like  to  ask.  anything  of  M.  d'Argenson,^  and,  being 
pressed  by  my  family,  who  could  not  understand  that, 
situated  as  I  was,  it  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  obtain 
a  little  command  for  a  good  soldier,  I  determined  to 
go  and  ask  the  count  myself. 

"  I  made  my  request  and  presented  a  memorial. 
He  received  me  coldly  and  gave  me  vague  answers.     I 

went  out,  and  the   Marquis  de  V ^,  who  was  in  his 

cabinet  and  had  heard  my  petition,  followed  me. 

'' '  You  want,*  said  he  to  me,  '  to  obtain  a  com- 
mission ;  there  happens  to  be  one  vacant,  which  has  been 
promised  me  for  one  of  my  proteges,  but  if  you  are 
willing  to  do  me  a  favour  in  return  or  obtain  one  for  me, 
I  will  give  it  to  you.  I  want  to  be  a  police  officer,  and 
you  have  it  in  your  power  to  procure  me  that  place.' 

"  I  told  him  I  did  not  understand  the  purport  of 
his  jest. 

"  '  I  will  explain,'  said  he.  '  Tartuffe  is  going  to  be 
performed  in  the  Cabinets,  and  there  is  the  part  of  a 
police  officer  in  it,  which  only  consists  of  a  very  few 
lines.  Prevail  upon  the  marchioness  to  give  that  part 
to  me,  and  the  commission  is  yours.' 

1  Comte  d'Argenson,  the  Minister  for  War. 

2  The  Marquis  de  Voyer,  d'Argenson's  eldest  son, 

91 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 


"  I  promised  nothing,  but  I  related  the  story  to 
Madame,  who  said  she  would  see  if  it  could  be  arranged. 
The  thing  was   done ;    I  obtained   the  commission   and 

M.  de  V thanked  Madame  as  if  she  had  made  him 

a  duke." ' 

Moli^re  had  the  honour  of  inaugurating  the  Th6^tre 
des  Petits  Appartements.  On  January  17,  1747, 
Tartuffe,  which  had  been  carefully  rehearsed  at  Choisy, 
during  a  visit  arranged  for  the  express  purpose  of 
practising  it  at  leisure,  was  performed  by  the  marchioness 
and  her  company.  The  audience,  including  the  King, 
who  had  desired  that  all  etiquette  should  be  laid  aside 
on  these  occasions,  only  numbered  fifteen  persons,  among 
whom  were  the  Marquis  de  Vandieres,  the  favourite's 
brother.  Marshal  Saxe,  and  Madame  d'Estrades.^  The 
evening  was  a  complete  success,  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  one  of  the  acts  the  King  was  heard  to  say  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  "You  are  the  most  charming 
woman  in  France." 

Unfortunately,  no  record  of  the  cast  at  this  per- 
formance is  in  existence,  but  when  the  play  was  repeated 
the  following  year,  it  was  as  follows : — 

,  la  Marquise  de  Sassenage. 

Marquis  de  Croissy. 
,  la  Duchesse  de  Brancas. 

Due  de  la  Valli^re. 

Comte  de  Maillebois. 
,  la  Comtesse  de  Pons. 

Marquis  de  Gontaut. 

Due  de  Duras. 


Mme.  Pernelle    . 

Mme. 

M.  Organ 

M.  le 

Mme.  Organ 

Mme. 

Tartuffe     . 

M.  le 

Damis 

M.  le 

Mar'iane    .          . 

Mme 

Cleante       .          , 

M.  le 

Valere 

M.  le 

1  Memoir es  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  (edit.   1825),  p.  177. 

2  Memoires  du  Due  de  Liiynes,  viii.  86. 

92 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

Dorine,  suiv.  de  Mariane  Mme.  la  Marquise  de  Pompadour. 
M.  Loyal  ,  .     M.  le  Marquis  de  Meuse. 

UExempt  .  .  .     M.  le  Marquis  de  Voyer. 

On  the  24th  of  the  same  month  two  pieces,  La 
Chaussee's  Le  Prejuge  d  la  mode  and  Dufresny's  H Esprit 
de  Contradiction  were  played  ;  and  after  the  supper  which 
followed  the  performance  there  was  a  ball,  at  which  the 
King  danced  several  country-dances,  and  Madame  de 
Pompadour  a  minuet  with  the  Comte  de  Clermont. 

Three  days  later,  Dancourt's  Les  Trois  Cousines  was 
given,  the  audience  on  this  occasion  including  the 
Dauphin  and  Dauphiness.  Madame  de  Pompadour,  we 
learn,  was  "  ravishing "  in  the  part  of  Collette  ;  while 
the  Duchesse  de  Brancas  "  played  correctly,  but  with 
an  absence  of  warmth,"  as  the  miller's  wife.  The  even- 
ing concluded  with  a  one-act  burlesque,  which,  however, 
appears  to  have  fallen  rather  flat,  in  spite  of  the  singing 
of  the  favourite  and  the  Due  d'Ayen,  and  the  artistic 
dancing  of  the  Marquis  de  Courtenvaux  and  the  Due 
de  Villeroi. 

The  company  more  than  retrieved  its  reputation  the 
following  month  in  an  opera  called  Erigone^  of  which 
Mondonville,  the  choirmaster  of  the  royal  chapel,  was 
part  composer.  This  was  so  successful  that  the  King 
ordered  it  to  be  repeated  a  few  days  later,  when,  for 
the  first  time,  the  Queen  and  her  daughters  graced 
the  proceedings  with  their  presence.  That  observant 
old  gentleman,  the  Due  de  Luynes,  was  also  among 
the  spectators.  His  criticism  of  the  performers  is 
interesting : — 

"Madame  de  Pompadour,"  he  says,  "excelled  every 
one.     She   has   not   a   powerful   voice,   but   it  is  a  very 

93 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

agreeable  one,  and  she  sings  with  much  expression. 
Madame  de  Brancas  has  a  powerful  voice,  but  she  does 
not  sing  with  the  same  expression  as  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour. The  dances,  which  were  arranged  by  Dehesse 
of  the  Comedie  Italienne,  were  very  charming,  but  none 
of  the  ladies  danced  with  such  grace  as  Madame  de 
Pompadour."  ^ 

This  highly  successful  evening  brought  to  a  close  the 
first  season  of  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements. 
The  noble  performers  retired  amid  salvoes  of  applause, 
while  the  professionals,  who  had  so  ably  seconded  their 
efforts,  were  liberally — some  people  thought  rather  too 
liberally — rewarded.^ 

The  favourite  was  universally  acclaimed  the  heroine 
of  the  season,  and  had  every  reason  to  feel  satisfied  with 
her  experiment.  She  had  appeared  to  her  royal  lover 
in.  the  triple  role  of  a  finished  actress,  a  charming 
cantatrice,  and  a  graceful  dancer.  So  many  talents  re- 
awakened the  affection  of  the  monarch,  which,  to  tell 
the  truth,  had  begun  to  cool.  Madame  de  Pompadour 
had  attained  her  end,  and  confirmed  her  authority,^ 

The  performances  did  not  recommence  until  the  winter, 

1  Memo'ires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  viii.  I47' 

2  "  They  have  given  two  thousand  livres  to  the  authors  of  a  wretched 
ballet  [Erigone],  which  has  been  performed  for  the  glorification  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour.  Dehesse,  an  Italian  actor,  who  arranges  the 
ballets  for  the  King's  little  comedies  at  Versailles,  has  received  two 
thousand  crowns.  People  are  complaining  about  this,  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  state  of  affairs  certainly  does  not  warrant  such  extra- 
vagance."—i^fZ/noirifj'  du  Marquis  d*  Argcnson. 

Writing  under  date  November  i6,  1749,  the  marquis  tells  us  that  one 
Tribou,  a  singing-master,  had  received  a  pension  of  eight  hundred  livres 
on  the  royal  treasury,  and  Legard,  a  composer,  "  wim  an  agreeable 
voice,"  another  of  fifteen  hundred. 

8  Jullien's  Hlstoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  13. 

94 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

the  intervening  months  being  utilised  to  make  several 
necessary  alterations  in  the  theatre.  The  space  reserved 
for  the  orchestra  was  enlarged,  and  several  dressing- 
rooms  were  constructed  behind  the  stage  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  players,  who  had  hitherto  been 
compelled  to  "  make  up  "  in  apartments  at  some  little 
distance  from  the  scene  of  action,  an  arrangement  which 
the  ladies  of  the  company  had  found  very  inconvenient. 

The  theatre  reopened  at  the  end  of  December  with 
Dufresny's  Le  Manage  fait  et  rompu^  in  which  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  did 
not  perform.  She  appeared,  however,  in  the  title-part 
in  a  pastoral  called  Ismene^  written  for  the  occasion  by 
Rebel,  the  conductor  of  the  orchestra,  and  Moncrif,  the 
Academician,  and  sang  "  ravishingly,"  while  the  Marquis 
de  Courtenvaux  danced  "  with  his  accustomed  grace." 
The  King  was  much  delighted ;  he  sent  for  the  author 
and  composer  and  warmly  complimented  them,  and  left 
the  theatre  exclaiming,  "  What  a  delightful  piece ! " 
The  Parisians,  it  may  be  remarked,  did  not  endorse  the 
royal  judgment,  and  when  Ismene  was  produced  at  the 
Opera,  with  the  celebrated  Madame  Vestris  in  the  prin- 
cipal part,  it  was  very  badly  received  indeed.-^ 

Another  success  awaited  Madame  de  Pompadour  and 
her  company  in  Voltaire's  Enfant  prodigue^  in  which  the 
favourite  played  Lise.^     This  was  to  have  been  repeated 

1  Jullien's  H'lstoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour^  p.  1 8. 

2  Voltaire,  who  was  in  disgrace  at  this  moment,  does  not  appear  to 
have  received  an  invitation  to  witness  the  production  of  his  comedy — a 
privilege  usually  accorded  to  the  authors  of  plays  and  operas  performed  at 
the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements ;  but  he  was  present  when  his  Al-zire 
was  given  in  February  1750,  on  which  occasion  his  vanity  was  deeply 
wounded  by  hearing  the  King  express  his  astonishment  that  the  man  who 
wrote  j4hire  could  be  the  author  of  such  a  miserable  play  as  Orestes. 

95 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

at  the  beginning  of  March,  but  a  mysterious  and  tragical 
affair,  in  which  a  member  of  the  company  and  the  rela- 
tive of  another  were  concerned,  caused  it  to  be  abandoned. 
At  the  very  moment  when  Notrelle,  the  perruquier,  was 
arranging  the  coiffures  of  the  players,  a  messenger  came 
from  the  King,  countermanding  the  play  and  announc- 
ing that  the  Comte  de  Coigny,  a  great  favourite  of  the 
monarch,  had  been  found  lying  dead  at  a  lonely  spot 
on  the  road  between  Versailles  and  Paris.  Barbier  gives 
the  following  version  of  this  affair  : — 

"  On  the  night  of  Sunday  the  3rd  to  Monday  the 
4th  a  terrible  accident  occurred  on  the  Versailles  road. 
It  had  been  colder  for  some  days  past  than  it  had  been  all 
the  winter.  For  three  or  four  days  it  had  been  snowing, 
and  on  Sunday  night  the  snow  fell  in  great  flakes,  en- 
tirely covering  the  ground.  It  is  customary  for  the 
nobility  to  travel  by  night  rather  than  by  day;  nothing 
stops  them,  and  it  is  le  bon  air.  The  Comte  de  Coigny, 
lieutenant-general,  colonel-general  of  dragoons,  cordon- 
hleu^  governor  of  the  Chateau  of  Choisy,  favourite  of 
the  King,  son  of  the  Marechal  de  Coigny,  who  is  still 

living,  was  supping  at  the  house  of  Mademoiselle  , 

princess  of  the  blood,  whose  '  ami '  he  has  always  been — 
a  fact  which  has  contributed  to  his  advancement — and 
was  in  the  highest  spirits. 

"  As  he  was  to  make  one  of  the  King's  hunting-party 
on  the  Monday  morning,  he  entered  his  postchaise,  ac- 
companied by  a  footman,  an  hour  or  two  after  midnight, 
with  the  intention  of  going  to  Versailles,  Mademoiselle 
pointed  out  to  him  that  it  was  madness  to  make  the 
journey  at  such  an  hour,  and  that  it  would  be  much 
wiser  to  sleep  in  Paris  and  start  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning.     His  postilion  told  him  in  Mademoiselle's 

96 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

courtyard  that  he  was  frozen  and  blinded  by  the  snow, 
and  could  not  see  his  way.  '  You  are  always  afraid,  you 
and  the  others,'  was  the  reply.      '  Start  at  once.' 

"  Opposite  the  village  of  Auteuil,  there  are  ditches  on 
the  right  side  of  the  road.  The  postilion  could  neither 
see  nor  feel  his  way,  and  the  result  was  that  the  chaise 
was  upset  into  the  ditch.  Some  say  that  M.  de  Coigny's 
head  came  in  contact  with  the  window,  and  that  he 
broke  his  neck ;  others  that  he  received  a  fatal  wound 
on  the  back  of  the  head ;  anyhow,  he  died  on  the  spot. 
The  footman,  although  he  was  injured,  has  come  to 
Paris  to  inform  the  people  of  the  house,  in  order  that 
they  might  send  for  the  body.  As  for  the  chaise,  it 
has  been  left  in  the  ditch,  and  has  been  seen  by  every 
one  who  passed  by  there  in  the  morning. 

"The  King  asked  on  Monday  morning  if  Coigny  was 
at  Versailles,  and  was  informed  that  his  carriage  had 
been  upset  during  the  night  while  on  his  way  thither. 
He  inquired  if  he  was  injured  ;  to  which  they  sadly  re- 
plied that  he  was  and  very  dangerously.  On  learning 
that  he  was  dead,  the  King  retired  to  his  closet,  and  has 
countermanded  the  hunting-party,  and  even  the  comedy 
which  was  to  have  been  performed  in  the  evening  at 
Versailles."^ 

But  a  day  or  two  later  Barbier  has  quite  another  tale 
to  tell. 

"There  is  different  news.  They  say  that  it  was  a 
duel,  and  that  it  was  agreed  to  upset  the  chaise  into 
the  ditch.  They  speak  of  the  Prince  de  Dombes  the 
Comte  d'Eu,  the  Due  de  Luxembourg,  and  M.  de 
Fitzjames."  ^ 

^   Journal  de  Barbier,  iv.  285  et  seq. 
2  Ibid.,  iv.  287. 

97  G 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

It  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  a  duel  with  the  Prince 
de  Dombes,  the  nobleman  who  played  the  bassoon  so 
skilfully  in  the  orchestra  of  the  Theatre  des  Petits 
Appartements,  that  the  unfortunate  Coigny  had  met 
his  death ;  and  this  is  how  it  came  about. 

Coigny  and  the  prince,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of 
the  Due  du  Maine  and  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.  and 
Madame  de  Montespan,  were  playing  at  the  King's 
card-table  at  Versailles.  The  count  lost  a  good  deal 
more  than  he  could  afford  and  his  temper  as  well, 
and  remarked,  loud  enough  for  Dombes,  who  was  the 
principal  winner,  to  hear :  "  One  must  be  a  bastard  to 
have  such  good  fortune." 

The  prince,  though  boiling  with  rage  at  so  gross 
an  insult,  controlled  himself  by  a  great  effort,  and, 
without  laying  down  his  cards,  leant  across  the  table 
and  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  You,  of  course,  intend, 
monsieur,  for  us  to  meet  immediately  ?  " 

"  When  and  where  you  please,"  answered  the  other, 
insolently. 

"  On  the  road  at  daybreak." 

They  met,  accordingly,  at  a  lonely  spot  on  the 
banks  of  the  Seine  and  close  to  the  village  of  Auteuil, 
on  ground  which  was  covered  with  a  thick  carpet  of 
snow ;  and  there,  just  as  the  March  morning  was  be- 
ginning to  break,  they  crossed  swords.  After  a  few 
passes,  Coigny  received  a  mortal  wound  and  expired 
almost  immediately.  The  chaise  in  which  he  had 
travelled  was  then,  as  had  been  previously  arranged, 
overturned  into  the  ditch  by  the  roadside,  in  the 
hope  of  diverting  public  curiosity ;  but  the  truth  soon 
leaked  out,  and  for  some  days  nothing  else  was 
talked  of  in  Paris  and  Versailles.     Numbers  of  people 

98 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

visited  the  scene  of  the  duel,  which  was  henceforth 
known  as  the  Point  du  Jour  (Break  of  Day).^ 

Mademoiselle   ,    Barbier   informs    us,   took    the 

matter  very  much  to  heart  at  the  time,  but  in  a  month 
had  forgotten  all  about  her  ill-fated  lover.  Nor  was 
the  grief  of  the  King  and  Court  of  longer  duration. 
A  week  later,  Madame  de  Pompadour  appeared  in  a 
ravishing  costume  as  Almasis  in  the  opera  of  that 
name,  while  the  Prince  de  Dombes  occupied  his  usual 
place  in  the  orchestra  and  played  his  bassoon  as 
tranquilly  as  ever. 

The  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements  had  two  very 
serious  drawbacks.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  too  small 
to  accommodate  more  than  a  handful  of  spectators, 
and,  in  the  second,  the  stage  was  so  far  away  from 
the  auditorium,  that  the  majority  of  the  players  had 
considerable  difficulty  in  making  themselves  heard. 
To  remedy  these  defects,  advantage  was  taken  of  the 
annual  autumn  visit  of  the  Court  to  Fontainebleau 
to  construct  an  entirely  new  theatre,  which  was  fitted 
up  in  the  cage  of  the  Ambassadors'  Staircase,  and  is 
described  by  the  Due  de  Luynes  as  "  a  masterpiece 
of  mechanism,  which  could  be  set  up  in  twenty-four 
hours  and  taken  to  pieces  in  fourteen." 

This  building  was  not  constructed  without  great 
expense,  and  it  was  commonly  reported  that  the 
favourite's  new  toy  had  cost  two  million  livres.  On 
this  being  told  to  the  marchioness  one  day  while  her 
toilette  was  being  performed,  she  angrily  exclaimed, 
"What  is  this  that  I  hear  about  the  new  theatre 
which  the  King  has  just  built  on  the  Grand  Stair- 
case costing  him  two  million  }     I  desire  it  to  be  known 

^  Journal  de  Barbier,  '\y.  288. 
99 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

that  it  has  not  cost  twenty  thousand  crowns,  and  I 
should  like  to  know  whether  his  Majesty  cannot 
spend  that  sum  on  his  amusement." 

But  whatever  the  expense  may  have  been,  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  disputing  the  fact  that,  when 
the  new  theatre  opened  its  doors  on  November  27, 
1748,  it  was  a  very  convenient  and  charming  house. 
It  had  accommodation  for  forty  musicians  and  the 
same  number  of  spectators.  Facing  the  stage  were 
the  seats  reserved  for  the  King  and  the  Royal  Family, 
while  to  the  right  and  left  were  two  balconies,  which 
were  occupied  by  the  most  favoured  courtiers.  Occa- 
sional guests  were  usually  given  seats  behind  the 
orchestra.  The  theatre  was  upholstered  in  blue  and 
silver,  and  the  same  colours  had  been  used  in  the 
decorations,  which  had  been  executed  by  Boucher. 

The  piece  chosen  for  the  opening  night  was  Les 
Surprises  de  U Amour ^  which  consisted  of  two  ballets, 
in  the  first  of  which  Madame  de  Pompadour  appeared 
as  Urania,  and  in  the  second  as  Venus.  As  Urania 
she  wore : — 

"  Blue  taffeta  skirt,  printed  and  embroidered  with 
silver  star  spangles,  both  large  and  small,  arranged 
garland  fashion ;  the  skirt  being  lined  with  Lyons  linen 
and  edged  with  a  wide  silver  net  border.  Drapery,  loose 
both  on  bodice  and  skirt,  of  English  silver  point  lace, 
trimmed  with  silver  net  and  blue  chenille ;  white 
taffeta  lining.  Blue  taffeta  mantle,  printed  with  silver 
stars  and  bordered  with  wide  silver  net-band." 

As  Venus  she  wore  : — 

"  Bodice  and  basques  of  blue  mosaic  material, 
trimmed  with  silver  net  and  blue  chenille.  Blue 
silver    printed    taffeta    mantle,    edged    with    scallops    of 

100 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

painted  taffeta,  trimmed  with  silver  net  and  blue 
chenille,  linen-lined ;  the  said  train  depending  from 
the  robe  to  make  it  serviceable  for  '  princesses' '  parts. 
White  taffeta  skirt,  with  large  painted  taffeta  scallops, 
trimmed  with  silver  net  and  blue  chenille,  and  enrouk- 
ments  of  double  net  blue  chenille,  with  rosettes  of  ribbon, 
silver-fringed." 

After  all  the  pains  which  must  have  been  bestowed 
on  these  costumes,  it  is  sad  to  relate  that  they  failed 
to  produce  the  desired  effect,  and  that  the  King  was 
ungallant  enough  to  remark  that  "  he  preferred 
comedy "  ;  but  it  would  appear  that  the  Due  d'Ayen, 
who  played  Adonis  to  the  favourite's  Venus,  was 
anything  but  a  success  in  the  part  of  that  ill-starred 
youth.  However,  compensation  was  not  far  distant, 
as  Quinault's  La  Mere  Coquette^  which  was  played  a 
few  days  later,  was  warmly  commended  by  his  Majesty, 
who  was  also  graciously  pleased  to  approve  of  "  a 
most  diverting  pantomime  "  which  succeeded  it. 

Matters  did  not  always  progress  with  perfect  smooth- 
ness in  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements.  One 
evening,  the  Duchesse  de  Brancas,  who,  next  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  was  by  far  the  most  able  vocalist  in 
the  company,  happened  to  hear  at  a  bal-masque  her 
own  and  her  colleagues'  acting  criticised  so  adversely, 
that  in  disgust  she  resigned  her  post  and  remained 
out  of  the  bill  for  a  whole  season.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1749  there  was  an  unfortunate  accident, 
in  which  one  of  the  stage  carpenters  lost  his  life 
and  two  others  were  injured ;  and,  about  the  same 
time,  there  was  a  violent  quarrel  between  Madame  de 
Pompadour  and  her  manager,  the  Due  de  la  Valliere, 
on    the    one   side,  and   the    Due    de    Richelieu    on    the 

lOI 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

other,  which  threatened  to  quite  spoil  the  perfor- 
mances. 

Richelieu  who,  through  his  friendship  with  the 
Duchesse  de  Chateauroux,  had  during  her  ascendency 
practically  governed  the  King  and  the  country,  had 
after  the  decease  of  that  lady  endeavoured  to  replace 
her  by  the  Duchesse  de  Rochechouart  or  Madame  de 
la  Poplini^re,  the  wife  of  a  wealthy  financier ;  but 
his  opportunities  for  intrigues  were  just  then  much 
curtailed,  owing  to  the  long  absences  from  Versailles 
which  his  military  duties  necessitated,  and  Madame 
d'Etioles  had  secured  the  coveted  post.  Richelieu 
was,  in  consequence,  anything  but  amicably  disposed 
towards  the  favourite,  and,  on  his  return  from  Italy 
in  1748,  tried  to  induce  Madame  de  Flavacourt, 
another  of  the  too  famous  sisters  De  Nesle,  to  enter 
the  lists  against  her,  but  was  informed  by  the  lady 
in  question  that  "  she  preferred  the  esteem  of  her 
contemporaries  to  the  favour  of  the  King " — -a  senti- 
ment which  would  have  done  the  speaker  infinite 
honour,  had  it  not  subsequently  transpired  that  her 
husband,  who  was  of  an  excessively  jealous  disposi- 
tion, had  threatened  to  kill  her  the  moment  he  had 
reason  to  suspect  her  fidelity.^ 

But  although  it  was  beyond  Richelieu's  power,  for 
the  moment  at  any  rate,  to  oust  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, he  was  able  to  harass  and  annoy  her  in  many 
ways.  Few  men  were  more  adept  in  the  art  of 
making  themselves  intolerable  to  the  objects  of  their 
dislike,  while  maintaining  towards  them  an  attitude  of 
perfect    friendliness,    and    this    art    Richelieu    practised 

1  Md moires  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  vii.  85  ;  Martin's  Histoire  de  France^ 
XV.  276. 

102 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

unsparingly  against  the  favourite.  At  the  King's 
supper-parties  and  at  the  marchioness's  own,  to  which, 
in  deference  to  Louis's  wishes,  she  was  compelled  to 
invite  him,  he  would  sometimes  exasperate  her  almost 
beyond  endurance  by  his  familiarity;  at  others  he 
would  adopt  a  patronising  tone  towards  her,  which 
was  even  more  galling.  In  vain  did  she  beg  the 
King  to  exclude  him  ;  but  the  latter  could  not  make 
up  his  mind  to  do  without  Richelieu,  besides  which 
the  duke  was  a  dangerous  person  for  even  a  king  to 
offend.  So  he  would  merely  shrug  his  shoulders  and 
reply,  "You  do  not  know  M.  de  Richelieu.  If  you 
send  him  out  by  the  door,  he  will  return  by  the 
chimney."  ^ 

At  length,  Richelieu,  gathering  boldness  through  im- 
punity, ventured  to  attack  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  her 
holy  of  holies,  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements, 
The  theatre  had  been  fitted  up,  as  we  have  mentioned,  in 
the  cage  of  the  Ambassadors'  Staircase ;  and  the  First 
Gentlemen  of  the  Bedchamber,  of  whom  Richelieu  was 
one,  pretended  that  it  came  within  their  jurisdiction,  and 
that,  consequently,  the  performances  ought  not  to  take 
place  except  with  their  permission.  Hitherto,  however, 
they  had  contented  themselves  with  sending  a  formal 
protest  to  the  stage-manager,  the  Due  de  la  Valliere, 
which  that  nobleman  appears  to  have  ignored.  But 
when  in  January  1749,  Richelieu  entered  upon  his  year 
of  office,  he  at  once  issued  an  order  prohibiting  the 
musicians  of  the  King's  band,  who  were  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  First  Gentlemen,  and  of  whom  the  professional 

1  This  was  probably  in  allusion  to  an  incident  in  Richelieu's  intrigue 
with  Madame  de  la  Popliniere,  which  will  be  found  related  at  consider- 
able length  in  the  Memoires  de  Marmontel. 

103 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

part  of  the  orchestra  of  the  Petits  Appartements  was 
mainly  composed,  from  accepting  any  engagements 
without  his  sanction  ;  and  on  the  Due  de  la  Valliere 
venturing  to  remonstrate,  treated  him  with  the  greatest 
insolence  and  "  concluded  by  calling  him  a  fool  and 
snapping  his  fingers  in  his  face." 

The  stage-manager,  of  course,  complained  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  who  was  highly  indignant  and  hastened 
to  lay  the  matter  before  the  King.  Louis  appears  to 
have  acted  on  this  occasion  with  commendable  tact. 
Instead  of  ordering  the  duke  to  withdraw  his  prohibition 
to  the  musicians,  or  reprimanding  him  for  his  treatment 
of  La  Valliere,  he  at  first  declined  to  interfere,  and  then 
one  day  on  his  return  from  hunting,  when  Richelieu,  in 
his  capacity  as  First  Gentleman,  was  removing  his  boots, 
a  number  of  courtiers  as  usual  standing  round,  suddenly 
remarked,  "  By-the-bye,  M.  de  Richelieu,  how  many  times 
have  you  been  in  the  Bastille  ?  " 

"  Three  times,  Sire,"  ^  answered  the  duke,  without 
changing  countenance. 

Nevertheless,  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  take  the  hint, 
and,  satisfied  with  the  annoyance  he  had  already  caused 
his  enemy,  pretended  that  he  had  raised  the  difliculty  not 
out  of  any  ill-feeling  towards  the  Due  de  la  Valliere,  still 
less  towards  Madame  de  Pompadour,  but  solely  for  the 
sake  of  his  own  honour  and  that  of  his  colleagues  of 
the  Bedchamber,  as  successive  encroachments  upon  their 

1  In  17 1 1,  "that  he  might  have  leisure  to  reflect  on  the  imprudence 
of  neglecting  his  wife  in  order  to  attach  himself  to  princesses  "  ;  in  17 16, 
for  fighting  a  duel  in  the  middle  of  the  Rue  Saint  Thomas  du  Louvre 
with  the  Comte  de  Gace,  in  which  both  combatants  were  wounded,  and 
Richelieu  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life;  and  in  17 19,  for  his  share  in 
the  Ctllamare  conspiracy. 

104 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR  ^ 

privileges,  if  allowed  to  pass  without  protest,  might 
easily  lead  to  abuses,  and  that  nothing  had  been  farther 
from  his  thoughts  than  to  cause  inconvenience  to  any 
member  of  the  company  of  the  Petits  Appartements. 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  on  her  side,  was  fain  to 
accept  the  duke's  explanations ;  and  a  compromise  was 
effected,  whereby  it  was  arranged  that  in  future  none  of 
the  musicians  belonging  to  the  King's  band  should  take 
part  in  the  performances  of  the  Petits  Appartements  with- 
out a  written  permission  from  the  First  Gentlemen,  the 
latter  undertaking  never  to  withhold  the  same  without 
good  and  sufficient  reason. 

This  dispute,  so  trifling  in  itself,  had  one  important 
result :  it  put  an  end  to  the  quarrel  between  Richelieu 
and  the  marchioness.  The  former  reluctantly  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  too 
firmly  established  in  Louis's  good  graces  for  him  to 
entertain  any  hope  of  ousting  her,  and  that  if  he  wished 
to  retain  the  monarch's  favour,  it  would  be  as  well  to 
accept  the  situation ;  while  the  favourite  recognised  that 
in  Richelieu  she  had  a  dangerous  and  resourceful  enemy, 
whom  it  would  be  wise  to  conciliate  without  delay.  A 
few  weeks  later,  we  find  d'Argenson  announcing  that  "  a 
grand  and  formal  reconciliation  had  taken  place  between 
the  marchioness  and  the  marshal."  ^ 

The  performances  of  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Apparte- 
ments went  on  until  April  1750.  They  began,  as  a  rule, 
after  the  return  of  the  Court  from  the  autumn  hunting- 
parties  at  Fontainebleau  and  continued  until  Lent  ;  were 
resumed  after  Easter,  and  concluded  at  the  end  of 
September.  Two  motives  decided  Louis  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  plays.     One  was  the  immense  expense  which  they 

^    Memolres  du  Marquis  d" Argenson^  lii.  246. 
105 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 


entailed ;  -^  the  other  was  the  disapproval  with  which, 
from  the  very  first,  they  were  regarded  by  the  public,  who 
were  not  unnaturally  indignant  at  such  extravagance  when 
the  financial  condition  of  the  country  left  so  much  to  be 
desired ;  and  expressed  their  resentment  in  their  favourite 
manner  by  lampooning  the  actors  and  actresses,  and  even 
the  King  himself.  Accordingly  in  January  1751  the 
venue  was  changed  to  the  Chateau  of  Bellevue,  which 
Madame  de  Pompadour  had  just  built  for  herself,  and 
where  one  of  her  first  cares  had  been  to  construct  a 
miniature  theatre.  Here,  in  March  1753,  Rousseau's  he 
Devin  du  Village  was  performed,  with  the  marchioness  as 

^  The  following  list  of  expenses  for  a  single  year,  which  M.  Jullien 
gives  in  his  interesting  work,  H'lstoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
will  convey  some  idea  of  what  this  little  amusement  must  have  cost  the 
Royal  Treasury.  It  is  extracted  from  the  Livre  Rouge,  a  register  of  the 
secret  expenses  of  the  Court,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  National 
Convention  in  I793»  and  was  published  by  their  orders,  presumably  to 
cast  odium  upon  the  Monarchy. 

"  To  M.  le  Due  de  la  Valliere  for  the  plays — 

February  22,    1750 

March  22,  „ 

April  19,  „ 

May  17,  „ 

June  7,  „ 

July  12,  „ 

August  9,  „ 

September  20,     ,, 
To   Hebert  for  various  articles  of  jewellery 

presented  to  those  who  have  played  in 

the  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements, 

May  16,  1751 

230,203  livres." 
In  1748  the  Due  de  la  Valliere  admitted  that  the  expenses  for  that  year 
had  reached  half  a  million  livres,  an  estimate  which  was  generally  believed 
to  be  much  below  the  sum  actually  expended. 

106 


20,000 

ivres 

20,000 

20,000 

30,000 

30,000 

30,000 

30,000 

25,000 

25,203 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Colin,  the  only  occasion  on  which  we  find  her  in  a 
masculine  r61e.  D'Argenson  declares  that  this  single 
representation  cost  the  King  fifty  thousand  crowns ;  but 
we  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  is  one  of  the  chronicler's 
statements  which  should  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  colleagues  did  not 
find  at  Bellevue  the  vogue  which  they  had  obtained  at 
Versailles.  The  theatre  was  too  small  to  accommodate 
more  than  a  very  few  spectators,  and  the  actors,  accus- 
tomed to  the  applause  of  a  comparatively  large  audience, 
soon  grew  tried  of  playing  for  themselves  alone.  Thus 
the  performances  lost  in  their  eyes  much  of  their  former 
charm.  The  members  began  to  drop  off;  the  intervals 
between  the  plays  grew  longer  and  longer ;  and,  at  length, 
in  the  spring  of  1753,  it  was  decided  to  disband  what  was 
left  of  the  company. 

The  Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements  had  lasted  a 
little  over  six  years.^ 

1  Julllen's  Histoire  du  Theatre  de  Madame  de  Pompadour.^  p.  66. 


107 


CHAPTER    VII 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  power  increasing — Animosity  be- 
tween the  favourite  and  Maurepas — Prince  Charles  Edward 
and  the  French  Government — "  Unheard  of,  inhuman,  and 
barbarous  treatment "  which  he  receives — Indignation  in  Paris 
— The  Poissonades  recommence — Maurepas  suspected  of  in- 
spiring them — The  Lieutenant  of  Police  professes  himself 
unable  to  discover  the  writers — A  cruel  insult — Fury  of  the 
favourite — Interview  between  her  and  Maurepas — Maurepas's 
conversation  with  Marechal  de  Villars — Violent  scene  between 
the  marchioness  and  the  Minister — Madame  de  Pompadour 
urges  the  King  to  disgrace  Maurepas — And  declares  that  he 
intends  to  poison  her — Maurepas  is  exiled — The  Poissonades 
continue — Fate  of  Desforges — Danry  alias  Latude — His  im- 
pudent attempt  to  impose  upon  Madame  de  Pompadour — His 
long  imprisonment  and  various  escapes — His  release  in  June 
1777 — His  second  imprisonment — His  apotheosis  after  his 
release  in  March  1784 — His  action  against  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour's heirs. 

In  the  midst  of  these  amusements  and,  indeed,  in  no  small 
degree  by  their  help,  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  gradually 
extending  the  sphere  of  her  influence,  and  every  day  saw 
her  assume  a  tone  of  more  assured  authority  and  approach 
a  step  nearer  to  that  almost  undisputed  power  which  she 
was  eventually  to  exercise.  We  have  seen  how  she  had 
succeeded  in  bringing  about  the  fall  of  Orry  and  of 
the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  and  in  the  spring  of  1749  she 
contrived  to  rid  herself  of  her  enemy  Maurepas. 

108 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Time  had  wrought  no  change  in  the  hostile  attitude 
which  the  Minister  of  Marine  had  from  the  very  first 
adopted  towards  the  mistress ;  and,  not  content  with 
ridiculing  her  pretensions  and  her  person  whenever  an 
opportunity  presented  itself,  he  had  devoted  himself  to 
stirring  up  the  younger  members  of  the  Royal  Family, 
with  whom  he  was  a  great  favourite,  against  her,  and 
had  moreover  gone  out  of  his  way  to  protect  her  old 
antagonist,  the  Bishop  of  Mirepoix,  whose  destruction, 
d'Argenson  tells  us,  Madame  de  Pompadour  had  sworn, 
"  as  Herodias  did  that  of  John  the  Baptist." 

Such  being  the  case,  it  was  only  to  be  expected  that, 
as  the  favourite's  power  grew,  she  should  treat  the 
Minister  with  increasing  hauteur,  and  exult  in  flaunting 
before  his  eyes  her  influence  over  the  King.  On  one 
occasion  it  happened  that  a  lettre-de-cachet  had  been 
launched  against  a  prot6ge  of  hers.  She  desired  that  it 
should  be  cancelled,  and,  Maurepas  coming  to  v/ait  upon 
the  King,  formulated  her  demand  by  remarking  curtly, 
"  Monsieur must  be  allowed  to  return." 

Maurepas  raised  some  objections,  addressing  his  re- 
marks to  Louis,  and  then,  turning  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  added,  "  It  is  necessary,  Madame,  for  the 
order  to  come  from  the  King." 

'*  Do  what  Madame  wishes,"  interposed  Louis,  with  a 
sigh  of  resignation. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1748  an  event  occurred,  which 
was  the  means  of  bringing  matters  between  the  mar- 
chioness and  Maurepas  to  a  crisis. 

By  a  clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the 
Government  had  pledged  itself  to  expel  Prince  Charles 
Edward,  the  Young  Pretender,  from  France.  The 
youthful   adventurer   was  very  popular  in   Paris,  where 

109 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  ladies,  we  are  assured,  literally  "  pulled  caps  "  over 
him.  He  dressed  splendidly,  affected  an  air  of  gaiety, 
in  spite  of  his  reverses  of  fortune,  and  entertained  in 
truly  royal  fashion,  on  one  occasion  ordering  a  service  of 
plate  worth  one  hundred  thousand  livres  for  a  dinner- 
party which  he  gave  to  some  of  his  fair  admirers.  The 
Government  had  repeatedly  requested  him  to  leave 
France,  offering  him  an  asylum  in  the  Canton  of  Fri- 
bourg,  together  with  a  guard  of  honour  and  a  liberal 
pension,  but  he  had  haughtily  refused,  and  talked  about 
imitating  Charles  XII.,  and  standing  a  siege  in  his  house, 
as  the  Swedish  King  did  at  Bender,  rather  than  comply 
with  their  demands. 

At  length,  the  patience  of  the  Ministry  was  exhausted, 
and  on  December  9  the  prince  received  an  inti- 
mation that  he  must  leave  the  country  within  three 
days ;  but  of  this  warning  he  took  not  the  slightest 
notice.  Two  days  later,  as  he  was  entering  the  Opera 
House,  he  was  arrested  by  the  Due  de  Biron  at  the  head 
of  a  company  of  the  Guards,  his  sword  taken  from  him, 
and  his  hands  bound  with  a  silken  cord.  After  which  he 
was  carried  head  foremost,  "  like  a  corpse,"  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  to  a  coach  which  was  in  waiting,  and  driven 
to  Vincennes,  while  his  attendants,  who  had  also  been 
arrested,  were  removed  to  the  Bastille.  At  Vincennes 
Charles  was  kept  in  confinement  for  some  days,  and  then 
liberated,  on  his  passing  his  word  to  leave  French  terri- 
tory. He  betook  himself  to  Avignon,  which  was  not 
French  territory,  as  it  belonged  to  the  Pope,  where  he 
arrived  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  "  in  good 
health,  notwithstanding  the  unheard  of,  barbarous,  and 
inhuman  treatment  I  have  met  with." 

Meanwhile  this  "  unheard  of,  barbarous,  and  inhuman 

no 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

treatment  "  had  excited  a  perfect  storm  of  indignation 
in  Paris.  Contemporary  French  writers  speak  of  the 
"  meanness  and  perfidy  "  of  the  Government,  and  accuse 
them  of  exploiting  the  unfortunate  young  man  for  their 
own  ends,  and  disowning  him  the  moment  he  ceased  to 
be  of  use  to  them.  The  Dauphin,  we  are  told,  wept 
and  remonstrated  with  Louis  in  public.  Libels  and 
lampoons  rained  on  the  King  and  his  Ministers.  But  it 
was  for  Madame  de  Pompadour  that  the  brunt  of  the 
popular  resentment  was  reserved.  It  was  currently 
reported  that  she  had  said  to  Saint-Severin,  the  French 
plenipotentiary,  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out 
for  Aix-la-Chapelle,  "  In  any  event,  remember,  monsieur, 
that  you  are  not  to  return  without  peace ;  the  King 
desires  it,  whatever  it  may  cost."  And  to  this  was 
ascribed  the  humiliating  clause  with  regard  to  the  Pre- 
tender, and  also  that  relating  to  the  fortifications  of 
Dunkirk,  which  had  caused  almost  equal  dissatisfaction. 
The  Poissonades  broke  out  again,  exceeding,  if  possible, 
in  bitterness  those  which  had  previously  appeared. 
Maurepas  was  suspected  of  having  invoked  the  satiric 
muse  on  more  than  one  occasion,  a  suspicion  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  behaviour  of  Berryer,  the  Lieutenant 
of  Police,  who,  when  some  of  the  favourite's  friends  were 
complaining  of  his  failure  to  discover  the  authors  of  the 
obnoxious  verses,  replied,  "  Gentlemen,  I  know  Paris  as 
well  as  it  is  possible  to  know  it,  but  I  do  not  know 
Versailles." 

The  ordinary  Poissonades  Madame  de  Pompadour 
might  have  ignored,  indeed,  she  was  probably  becoming 
inured  to  them  ;  but,  at  length,  one  appeared  which  went 
beyond  all  the  bounds  of  decency. 

One  evening   at  Marly  the  marchioness   found  under 

III 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

her  serviette  a  quatrain  ridiculing  her  upon  an  infirmity, 
very  common  in  women  of  delicate  constitution,  from 
which  she  had  long  been  a  sufferer,  but  which  she  had 
been  so  careful  to  conceal,  that  she  was  under  the  im- 
pression that  no  one  was  aware  of  it.  The  haughty 
woman's  fury  and  mortification  may  be  conceived  when 
she  learned  that  copies  of  these  atrocious  verses  had  been 
distributed  in  Paris,  and  that  her  infirmity  was  now 
common  property. 

The  police  as  usual  professed  themselves  unable  to 
discover  the  culprit,  whereupon  Madame  de  Pompadour 
resolved  to  take  matters  into  her  own  hands,  and,  in 
company  with  her  cousin,  Madame  d'Estrades,  presented 
herself  at  Maurepas's  hotel  and  demanded  to  see  the 
Minister  on  business  which  would  admit  of  no  delay. 

The  interview,  as  reported  by  d'Argenson,  was  a  brief 
one. 

"  People  shall  no  longer  say,"  began  the  marchioness, 
"  that  I  am  in  the  habit  of  sending  for  the  Ministers ; 
I  go  to  find  them.  When  are  you  likely  to  discover  the 
writer  of  these  verses  .^  "  ^ 

"  When  I  discover  him,"  drily  replied  Maurepas,  "  I 
shall  inform  the  King." 

"You  set  small  store  by  the  King's  mistresses, 
Monsieur,"  rejoined  the  favourite. 

1  Maurepas  combined  the  offices  of  Minister  of  Marine  and  Minister 
for  Paris,  and  in  the  latter  capacity  had  authority  over  the  police.  This 
fact  no  doubt  accounted  for  Berryer's  inability  to  discover  the  writers  of 
the  lampoons.  Maurepas  in  his  Memoires  denies  that  he  was  the  author 
of  the  quatrain  which  so  exasperated  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  throws 
the  blame  upon  Richelieu,  who,  he  says,  wrote  the  verses  and  caused 
them  to  be  circulated  in  Paris,  with  the  object  of  annoying  the  favourite, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  injuring  Maurepas  whom  he  hated,  and  upon  whom 
he  contrived  that  suspicion  should  fall. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

"  I  have  always  respected  them,  Madame,  for  something 
which  they  once  were"  was  the  biting  retort,  and  with 
this  the  conversation  ended. 

Soon  after  Madame  de  Pompadour  had  taken  her 
departure,  Maurepas  happened  to  call  upon  his  friend, 
Marechal  de  Villars,  who,  having  heard  of  the  favourite's 
visit  to  the  Minister  of  Marine  that  morning,  said  to 
him,  with  a  smile — 

"  You  have  had  a  fair  visitor  to-day  ? " 

*'  Yes,"  answered  Maurepas,  laughing,  *'  the  mar- 
chioness ;  her  visit  will  bring  her  bad  luck.  I  re- 
member that  Madame  de  Mailly  also  came  to  see  me 
two  days  before  she  received  her  dismissal.  As  for 
Madame  de  Chateauroux,  all  the  world  knows  that  I 
poisoned  her.^     I  bring  misfortune  to  them  all." 

But  Maurepas  was  wrong.  History  on  this  occasion 
did  not  repeat  itself.  It  was  for  himself,  and  not  for 
the  mistress,  that  misfortune  was  in  store.  Secure  in 
the  favour  of  the  King,  as  the  only  Minister  who  had 
ever  yet  succeeded  in  rendering  business  "  amusing," 
and  in  that  of  the  Queen  and  Dauphin,  the  former  of 
whom  is  said  to  have  loved  him  "as  a  son" — a  rather 
singular  comparison,  seeing  that  Maurepas  was  the  elder 
of  the  two — he  flattered  himself  that  not  even  Madame 
de  Pompadour  was  strong  enough  to  overthrow  him ; 
but  he  had  little  idea  of  the  resources  of  his  adversary. 

The  interview  we  have  described  was  followed  by  a 
declaration  of  open  war  on  the  part  of  the  marchioness. 
A  violent  scene  took  place,  in  which,  unrestrained  by  the 

^  At  the  time  of  Madame  de  Chateauroux's  death,  a  report  was  spread 
that  she  had  been  poisoned  by  Maurepas.  The  only  justification  for  this 
was  that  the  lady  had  died  rather  suddenly,  and  that  the  Minister  had  visited 
her  a  few  days  before  her  death,  with  a  message  from  the  King. 

•13  H 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

presence  of  the  King,  she  branded  the  Minister  as  a 
"  liar  "  and  a  "  knave."  From  morning  until  night  she 
importuned  Louis  to  dismiss  her  enemy,  pointing  out 
that  Maurepas  had  injured  him  in  his  threefold  capacity 
as  King,  lover,  and  father.  It  was  he,  she  declared,  who 
was  responsible  for  the  lampoons  which  had  so  long 
plagued  the  sovereign  and  his  Ministers.  It  was  he  who 
had  composed  the  shameful  verses  which  insulted  the 
monarch  in  the  person  of  his  mistress.  It  was  he  who 
had  incited  the  younger  members  of  the  Royal  Family 
to  rebellion  against  their  chief.  Finally,  finding  the  King 
disposed  to  make  excuses  for  his  old  friend,  she  changed 
her  tone  and  vowed  that  she  went  in  fear  of  her  life 
because  of  him  ;  that  she  was  convinced  that  he  intended 
to  poison  her  as  he  was  said  to  have  poisoned  Madame 
de  Chateauroux.  She  ordered  her  physician  to  sleep 
in  her  ante-chamber,  so  as  to  be  at  hand  in  case  of 
emergency.  At  the  King's  supper-parties,  she  refused 
to  partake  of  any  dish,  unless  some  one  else  had  first 
eaten  of  it ;  while  at  the  performances  of  the  Theatre 
des  Petits  Appartements,  whenever  she  happened  to 
feel  thirsty,  her  physician,  always  now  within  call, 
was  summoned  to  prepare  her  lemonade  with  his  own 
hands. 

These  extravagances  ended,  as  the  astute  favourite  had 
foreseen,  in  exhausting  Louis's  powers  of  resistance,  not 
that  for  a  moment  he  believed  Maurepas  capable  of  a 
crime,  but  simply  because  he  would  have  sacrificed  his 
whole  Council  of  State,  in  order  to  preserve  the  peace 
and  quiet  he  desired  to  see  reign  around  him.  Very 
reluctantly  he  at  length  yielded,  and  in  the  small  hours 
of  the  morning  of  April  25,  1749,  d'Argenson,  the 
War  Minister,  was  roused  from  his  slumbers  by  a  royal 

114 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

messenger,  bearing  a  lettre- de-cachet^  which  he  was  directed 
to  deliver  to  Maurepas  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
It  was  dated  from  Madame  de  Pompadour's  chateau  of 
La  Celle,  eleven  o'clock  the  previous  evening,  so  the 
marchioness  had  lost  no  time  in  making  use  of  the 
document,  which  she  had  doubtless  extracted  from  the 
King  at  the  supper-table. 

Some  years  before,  Maurepas,  half  in  jest,  had  begged 
Louis  to  give  him  warning  when  he  wished  to  dispense 
with  his  services,  in  place  of  sending  him  the  usual 
formal  dismissal ;  and  the  letter  which  he  now  received 
was  as  follows  : — 

"  I  promised  you  that  I  would  warn  you  ;  I  keep  my 
word.  I  no  longer  require  your  services,  and  you  must 
hand  in  your  resignation  to  M.  de  Saint-Florentin. 
You  will  go  to  Bourges  ;  Pontchartrain  is  not  far  enough 
away.  I  give  you  the  remainder  of  the  week  in  which 
to  make  your  preparations  for  departure.  You  must 
see  no  one  except  the  members  of  your  family.  Do  not 
send  me  any  reply."  ^ 

So  Madame  de  Pompadour  triumphed  over  another  of 
her  enemies,  and  her  courtiers,  who  had  pretended  to 
share  her  fears,  were  able  to  exclaim,  "  At  last  the  life 
of  the  marchioness  is  safe  ! "  But,  notwithstanding 
Maurepas's  disappearance,  the  Poissonades  continued. 
The  friends  of  the  favourite  declared  that  they  were 
written  by  the  exiled  Minister's  supporters,  with  the 
object  of  proving  that  he  could  not  have  been  the  author 
of  the  preceding  ones  ;  but,  whether  this  was  the  case  or 
not,  it  is  certain  that  they  had  lost  nothing  of  their 
former  venom.  Now,  however,  the  police,  who  so  long 
as   Maurepas  was  in    power,   had,   for  obvious  reasons, 

^  Memolres  du  Due  de  Luynes^  x.  I2I. 

"5 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

refrained  from  making  too  conscientious  investigations, 
showed  commendable  activity,  and  the  Bastille  was  soon 
filled  with  prisoners.  Exemplary  punishment  was 
meted  out  to  the  principal  offenders,  one  unfortunate 
rhymer,  named  Desforges,  being  sent  to  meditate  on  his 
temerity  in  the  famous  iron  cage  on  Mount  Saint- 
Michel,  where  he  remained  for  several  years  in  a 
miserable  condition,  until  the  Abbe  de  Broglie  took 
pity  upon  him  and  obtained  his  release. 

Although  Madame  de  Pompadour's  charges  against 
Maurepas  were  absolutely  devoid  of  foundation,  and 
were,  indeed,  nothing  but  a  ruse  to  rid  herself  of 
a  formidable  adversary,  she  would  appear  to  have  been 
really  apprehensive  that  the  popular  resentment  of  which 
she  was  the  object  might  take  the  form  of  some  attempt 
upon  her  life,  and  her  fears  in  this  direction  gave  rise  to 
a  very  remarkable  episode. 

There  happened  to  be  in  Paris  at  this  time  a  young 
man  of  twenty-three,  who  called  himself  Jean  Danry. 
This  Danry,  who  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  a  poor 
woman,  named  Jeanneton  Aubrespy,  of  Montagnac  in 
Languedoc,  and  "  of  a  father  unknown,"  had  served  for 
some  time  as  an  assistant-surgeon  in  the  French  army  in 
Flanders,  but  was  now  out  of  employment.  He  seems 
to  have  been  a  youth  of  considerable  intelligence,  but  of 
dissolute  character,  in  consequence  of  which  he  had 
fallen  into  the  most  abject  poverty.  In  these  straits,  he 
endeavoured  to  obtain  money  from  Moreau  de  Sechelles, 
commissary  of  the  army  in  Flanders,  on  the  plea  that, 
while  devoting  himself  to  the  care  of  the  wounded  at 
the  siege  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  he  had  been  robbed  of  all 
his  belongings  by  marauding  soldiers.  This  experiment 
proved  a  failure,  but  Danry  was  a  man  of  resource,  and 

ii6 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

ere  long  he  had  hit  upon  another,  and  far  more  ingenious, 
plan  for  filling  his  empty  purse. 

On  April  27,  1749,  in  a  shop  under  the  arcade  of  the 
Palais-Royal,  he  purchased  from  a  small  tradesman  six 
of  those  little  bottle-shaped  toys,  once  known  as  Prince 
Rupert's  Drops.  They  were  globules  of  molten  glass, 
which,  on  being  thrown  into  cold  water,  had  taken  the 
shape  of  pears,  and  which,  if  the  tapering  end  were 
suddenly  snapped,  crumbled  into  dust  with  a  loud 
report.  He  next  procured  a  cardboard  box,  in  which 
he  placed  four  of  the  crackers,  binding  the  thin  ends 
together  with  a  thread  which  he  fixed  in  the  lid.  Over 
the  crackers  he  sprinkled  some  toilet  powder,  and  over 
this  again  a  layer  of  powdered  vitriol  and  alum.  The 
whole  packet  he  then  enclosed  in  a  double  wrapper, 
writing  on  the  inner  one,  "  I  beg  you,  madame,  to  open 
the  packet  in  private,"  and  on  the  outer  one,  "  To  Mme. 
la  Marquise  de  Pompadour,  at  Court." 

The  following  evening  Danry,  having  posted  his 
packet,  hurried  off  to  Versailles,  where  he  related  to 
Gourbillon,  one  of  the  favourite's  confidential  servants, 
a  most  alarming  story.  It  was  to  the  effect  that, 
happening  to  be  in  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries  that 
afternoon,  he  had  observed  two  men  seated  in  animated 
conversation,  and,  on  approaching  them,  had  heard  them 
utter  the  most  horrible  threats  against  Madame  de 
Pompadour ;  that  when  they  rose,  he  had  dogged  their 
footsteps,  which  led  to  the  post-ofHce,  where  they  had 
consigned  a  packet  to  the  box  ;  and  that,  being  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  marchioness,  he  had  lost  no  time 
in  setting  out  for  Versailles  to  warn  her  of  her  danger. 

Gourbillon,  of  course,  instantly  informed  his  mistress 
of  what  Danry  had  told  him,  and  when,   next   day,  a 

117 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR  . 

packet  such  as  the  young  man  had  described  duly  arrived 
for  the  favourite,  Quesnay,  the  marchioness's  private 
physician,  was  requested  to  open  it.  This,  being  a  cautious 
man,  he  did  with  the  utmost  care,  and,  after  a  brief 
examination,  pronounced  the  contents  innocuous ;  but, 
since  alum  and  vitriol  were  substances  capable  of  being 
employed  for  baneful  purposes,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
it  was  a  case  of  a  criminal  design  clumsily  executed.^ 

Both  the  marchioness  and  Louis  XV,,  when  he  learned 
of  what  had  happened,  were  seriously  alarmed,  and 
instructions  were  given  to  Berryer  to  spare  no  pains  to 
discover  the  authors  of  the  supposed  plot. 

Berryer  put  the  affair  into  the  hands  of  the  most 
skilful  of  his  detectives,  one  Saint-Marc,  who,  having 
ascertained  that  Danry  had  been  a  surgeon  and  that 
Binguet,  a  friend  who  shared  his  garret,  was  an  apothe- 
cary, recommended  that  both  should  be  arrested  and 
their  rooms  searched. 

Accordingly,  on  May  i,  Danry  and  Binguet  were 
apprehended  and  taken  to  the  Bastille ;  while  a  written 
account  of  the  former's  adventure,  which  Saint-Marc 
had  on  some  pretext  obtained  from  him,  was  submitted 
to  an  expert  in  handwriting,  together  with  the  wrapper 
of  the  packet  which  had  been  sent  to  Versailles.  The 
expert  at  once  pronounced  that  the  directions  on  the 
wrapper  were  undoubtedly  in  the  same  hand  as  the 
document  which  Saint-Marc  had  procured ;  a  search 
in  Danry's  room  still  further  confirmed  the  detective's 
suspicions,  and  the  unfortunate  young  man  was  lost. 

Now  comes  the  extraordinary  part  of  the  affair. 

Both  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  the  police  appear  to 

1  M.  Funck-Brentano's  Les  Legendes  et  les  Archives  de  la  Bastille^ 
p.  157  et  req. 

118 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

have  been  convinced  that  what  was  merely  a  stupid  hoax 
was  in  reality  a  deep-laid  plot  against  the  life  of  the 
favourite,  instigated  by  some  persons  of  high  rank,  and 
that  at  the  critical  moment  either  Danry's  courage  had 
failed  him,  or  that  he  had  warned  the  marchioness,  in  the 
hope  of  reaping  some  reward  from  both  sides.  For 
this  view  of  the  matter  and  for  the  sufferings  which 
it  subsequently  entailed  upon  him,  Danry  had  only 
himself  to  thank.  Being  shut  up  in  the  Bastille,  he 
was,  of  course,  in  complete  ignorance  that  his  rooms 
had  been  searched  by  the  police,  and  that  the  remark- 
able similarity  between  the  handwriting  of  the  report 
he  had  drawn  up  for  Saint-Marc  and  that  upon  the 
wrapper  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  packet  had  been 
detected.  When,  therefore,  Berryer  came  to  visit  him, 
pointed  out  the  danger  he  was  incurring,  and  implored 
him  to  make  a  clean  breast  of  the  matter,  he  answered  at 
first  with  lies,  and  then,  changing  his  tactics,  sullenly 
refused  to  reply  to  the  questions  put  to  him. 

So  matters  went  on  for  some  six  weeks,  when  Danry 
at  length  made  up  his  mind  to  do  what  he  ought  to 
have  done  at  the  beginning  and  volunteered  a  statement 
which  was  substantially  correct.  But  now  he  was  not 
believed.  He  had  misrepresented  the  facts  of  the  case 
on  previous  occasions,  and  the  authorities  had  no 
grounds  for  supposing  that  he  was  not  misrepresenting 
them  still.  The  only  result  of  his  confession  was  that 
his  assurance  that  his  friend  Binguet  was  entirely  inno- 
cent was  accepted,  and  the  apothecary  set  at  liberty. 

Danry,  therefore,  remained  a  prisoner,  but,  in  accord- 
ance with  Berryer's  instructions,  was  treated  with  the 
utmost  consideration.  He  was  provided  with  books  and 
tobacco,  was   permitted  to   play  on   the   flute,  and  was 

119 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

informed  that  "  he  was  to  be  allowed  to  want  for 
nothing."  Berryer  no  doubt  hoped,  by  dint  of  kind- 
ness, to  induce  him  to  disclose  the  names  of  the  authors 
of  the  supposed  plot. 

At  the  end  of  July  Danry  was  removed  to  Vincennes, 
which,  like  the  Bastille,  was  usually  reserved  for  prisoners 
of  good  position.  A  few  days  before  the  philosopher 
Diderot  had  been  taken  thither,  his  Lettres  sur  les  aveugles 
having  given  offence  in  certain  influential  quarters. 
Diderot's  imprisonment  seems  to  have  been  a  merely 
nominal  one ;  he  was  allowed  every  possible  comfort, 
was  permitted  to  receive  his  friends  and  walk  with  them 
in  the  wood,  and,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  with  the 
secret  complicity  of  the  governor  of  the  fortress,  the 
Marquis  du  Chatelet,  he  climbed  over  the  walls  of  the 
park  as  soon  as  the  shades  of  evening  had  fallen,  in  order 
to  pay  a  visit  to  a  fair  lady  in  Paris,  returning,  however, 
before  his  gaoler  came  to  bring  him  his  morning  coffee. 

At  Vincennes  Danry  was  treated  even  better  than 
had  been  the  case  in  the  Bastille.  The  best  room  was 
reserved  for  him  ;  he  was  allowed  to  take  exercise  in  the 
park  for  a  couple  of  hours  every  day,  and  when  he  com- 
plained of  illness,  he  was  attended  by  a  specialist  as  well 
as  by  the  prison  surgeon. 

Meanwhile  Berryer  came  again  to  see  him,  and  advised 
him  to  write  direct  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  implore 
her  pardon.  Danry  followed  the  Minister's  advice,  and 
this  is  what  he  wrote  : — 

"  Vincennes,  iVo^'^wZ'^r  4,  1749. 

"  Madame, — If  wretchedness,  goaded  by  famine,  has 
driven  me  to  commit  a  crime  against  your  dear  person, 
it  was  with  no  intention  of  doing  you  any  injury.     God 

120 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

is  my  witness.  If  the  divine  mercy  would  assure  you  to^ 
day,  on  my  behalf,  how  my  soul  repents  of  its  grievous 
sin,  and  how  for  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  days  I 
have  not  ceased  to  weep  at  the  sight  of  my  iron  bars, 
you  would  have  pity  on  me.  Madame,  in  the  name 
of  God,  who  is  enlightening  you,  suffer  your  just 
indignation  to  be  appeased  at  the  sight  of  my  repentance, 
my  misery,  my  tears,  and  one  day  God  will  reward  you 
for  your  humanity.  You  are  all-powerful,  madame ; 
God  has  given  you  influence  with  the  greatest  King  on 
all  the  earth.  His  well-beloved  ;  he  is  compassionate, 
he  is  not  cruel,  he  is  a  Christian.  If  the  divine  power 
enables  me  to  move  your  magnanimity  to  grant  me  my 
freedom,  I  would  rather  die,  or  support  existence  on 
roots,  than  jeopardize  it  a  second  time.  I  have  based 
all  my  hopes  on  your  Christian  charity.  Give  heed  to 
my  prayer ;  do  not  abandon  me  to  my  unhappy  fate. 
My  hope  is  in  you,  madame,  and  God  will  vouchsafe 
an  answer  to  my  prayers  that  your  dear  person  may 
obtain  all  your  heart's  desires.  I  have  the  honour  to 
be,  with  a  repentance  worthy  of  pardon,  madame,  your 
very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant,  Danry." 

This  letter  was  duly  forwarded  to  the  marchioness,  but 
produced  no  result,  and,  losing  patience,  Danry  resolved  to 
effect  his  own  release  and  on  June  15,  1750,  he  escaped, 
not  in  the  ingenious  manner  related  in  his  Memoires,  but 
by  the  delightfully  simple  process  of  walking  through  one 
of  the  gates  in  the  park  which  happened  to  have  been 
left  unlocked.  He  made  his  way  to  Paris,  where,  with 
the  assistance  of  a  girl,  named  Annette  Benoist,  he  eluded 
the  poHce  for  several  days,  but  was  eventually  recaptured 
and  taken  a  second  time  to  the  Bastille. 

121 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

By  his  escape  from  Vincennes,  Danry  had,  of  course, 
increased  the  gravity  of  his  offence,  and  he  now  found 
himself  confined  in  one  of  the  cells  set  apart  for  in- 
subordinate prisoners.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  still 
fed  as  well  as  formerly,  was  allowed  books  and  papers, 
and  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  two  hours'  exercise  daily. 
Instead,  however,  of  being  grateful  for  these  concessions 
and  bearing  his  lot  with  patience,  Danry  grew  more  and 
more  irritable  every  day,  flew  into  violent  passions  with 
his  gaolers,  shrieked,  tore  up  and  down  his  cell  like  a 
madman,  and  on  the  books  of  the  Bastille  library, 
which  circulated  among  the  prisoners,  wrote  ribald 
verses  against  Madame  de  Pompadour.^ 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  scarcely  surprising 
that  his  sojourn  in  the  cells  should  have  been  prolonged 
till  the  autumn  of  175 1,  when  he  was  put  back  into  a 
good  room  and  given  a  servant  to  wait  upon  him,  and 
subsequently,  on  the  servant  being  taken  ill,  a  companion, 
a  certain  Antoine  Allegre,  who  had  been  a  prisoner 
since  May  1757. 

This  Allegre,  curiously  enough,  owed  his  confine- 
ment to  circumstances  almost  identical  with  those 
which  had  led  to  the  incarceration  of  Danry.  He  had 
fabricated  a  story  of  a  conspiracy  against  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  in  which  Maurepas,  the  Archbishop  of 
Albi,  and  other  influential  persons  were  involved,  and 
had  sent  a  denunciation  of  the  supposed  plot  to  Ver- 
sailles, where  it  was  speedily  discovered  to  be  a  mere 
figment  of  his  own  imagination. 

Allegre,  who  had  formerly  been  a  schoolmaster  at 
Marseilles,  was  a  man  of  superior  education,  an  excellent 
mathematician,  and  so  clever  with  his  fingers  that  the 

^  Legendes  et  Archives  de  la  Bastille,  p.  171. 
122 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

officials  of  the  Bastille  declared  that  he  could  make 
whatever  he  pleased.  He  was,  however,  of  a  passionate 
and  quarrelsome  disposition,  and  had  on  one  occasion 
nearly  killed  a  warder  against  whom  he  had  a  grievance. 

After  Danry  and  All^gre  had  been  together  for  a 
couple  of  years,  they  resolved  to  endeavour  to  effect 
their  escape.  The  difficulty  of  such  an  undertaking 
may  be  imagined  when  we  mention  that  their  cell  was 
between  three  and  four  hundred  feet  from  the  ground, 
that  both  the  window  and  the  chimney  were  guarded 
by  stout  iron  bars,  and  that  the  wall  of  the  Bastille, 
through  which  a  passage  large  enough  to  admit  a  man's 
body  would  have  to  be  made,  was  several  feet  thick 
and  patrolled  by  armed  sentinels. 

Undaunted  by  the  apparently  insuperable  obstacles 
with  which  they  had  to  contend,  the  two  prisoners  set 
about  the  construction  of  their  famous  rope-ladder, 
for  which  in  after  days,  when  Allegre  had  become 
insane  and  was  no  longer  able  to  contradict  him,  Danry 
appropriated  the  whole  credit,  though  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  scheme  originated  with  his  com- 
panion, and  that  Danry  merely  carried  out  the  latter's 
directions.  It  was  a  work  of  long  patience  and  amazing 
ingenuity,  made  as  it  was  by  the  laborious  unravelling 
of  shirts,  stockings,  serviettes,  coverlets,  and  pocket- 
handkerchiefs,  in  short,  of  everything  which  could  supply 
either  silk  or  thread. 

The  night  of  February  25,  1756,  was  the  one 
selected  for  their  daring  attempt.  They  had  succeeded, 
after  many  weeks'  weary  toil,  in  loosening  the  bars  in 
the  chimney  of  their  room,  and  these  they  now  removed, 
and  climbed  to  the  platform  above.  Then,  fastening 
their  ladder  to  a  gun-carriage,  they  descended  into  the 

123 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

fosse,  where,  as  the  Sehie  was  in  flood,  the  water  reached 
to  their  arm-pits,  and  by  the  aid  of  an  iron  bar,  which 
they  had  brought  with  them,  levered  out  a  large  stone 
in  the  wall  which  separated  the  Bastille  moat  from  that  of 
the  Arsenal,  and  escaped  through  the  hole  thus  made. 

The  two  fugitives  remained  for  some  little  time  in 
hiding  in  Paris,  in  the  house  of  a  tailor  named  Rouit, 
and  then  made  their  way  across  the  Flemish  frontier, 
with  the  intention  of  taking  refuge  in  Brussels.  They 
had  deemed  it  advisable  not  to  travel  together,  and 
Allegre  was  the  first  to  reach  their  destination,  whence 
he  wrote  an  insolent  letter  to  Madame  de  Pompadour. 
This,  of  course,  gave  the  Paris  police  a  clue  which  they 
were  not  slow  to  follow  up,  and  when,  in  his  turn, 
Danry  arrived  at  Brussels,  he  learnt  that  his  friend  had 
already  been  re-arrested.  He,  accordingly,  lost  no  time 
in  setting  out  for  Holland,  and  at  Amsterdam  took 
service  with  one  Paul  Melenteau ;  but  the  detective 
Saint-Marc  was  on  his  track,  disguised  as  an  Armenian 
merchant,  and  on  June  i,  1756,  he  too  was  arrested  on 
an  extradition  warrant,  "  readily  and  gladly  granted " 
by  the  burgomaster,  and  a  week  later  found  himself 
for  the  third  time  in  the  Bastille. 

By  this  second  escape,  the  luckless  young  man  had 
succeeded  in  making  his  case  a  very  serious  one ;  but  the 
authorities  contented  themselves  with  directing  that  he 
should  again  be  confined  in  the  cells.  Here  he  remained 
for  more  than  three  years.  In  his  Memoires  Danry  gives 
a  most  harrowing  account  of  the  sufferings  he  endured 
during  this  period  ;  but  it  is  full  of  the  grossest  exag- 
geration. For  instance,  he  complains  of  having  to  eat 
"  hard,  coarse  meat,  either  almost  raw  or  dressed  to 
rags  ;  pulse,  swimming  in  rancid  butter ;  fish,  sometimes 

124 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

putrid  and  always  tasteless ;  pigs'  feet,  unscraped,"  and 
so  forth ;  whereas  we  learn  from  the  reports  drawn  up 
by  one  of  the  Bastille  officials  that  he  had  "  sworn  like 
a  trooper,"  because  a  fowl  which  had  been  served  him 
had  not  been  stuffed,  and  that  on  fast  days  he  had 
requested  that  warders  should  be  sent  early  to  the 
market  to  buy  him  fish,"  as  he  never  eat  "  eggs,  arti- 
chokes, or  spinach."  Again,  he  asserts  that  his  clothing 
consisted  of  "  half-rotten  rags,"  when  he  was  actually 
being  provided  with  *'  dressing-gowns  lined  with  rabbit- 
skin,  waistcoats  lined  with  silk  plush,  fur  hats,  and  first- 
rate  leather  breeches,"  and  the  commissary  charged  with 
the  prisoner's  supplies  was  ransacking  the  shops  of  Paris, 
to  obtain  for  him  "  a  calamanco  dressing-gown  with  red 
stripes  on  a  blue  ground."  ^ 

At  the  beginning  of  September  1759,  Danry  was 
again  removed  from  the  cells  and  lodged  in  a  comfort- 
able room.  He  wrote  at  once  to  the  Lieutenant  of 
Police  to  thank  him,  and  to  beg  his  acceptance  of  two 
doves,  the  offspring  of  a  pair  which  had  built  their  nest 
in  his  cell,  "  as  a  slight  mark  of  his  great  gratitude," 
and  to  ask  permission  to  send  a  similar  present  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  "  who  might  perhaps  allow 
her  heart  to  be  touched  by  these  two  innocent  pigeons." 

Leave  was  granted  him,  whereupon  the  prisoner  ad- 
dressed to  the  marchioness  the  following  letter : — 

*'  Madame, — Two  pigeons  used  to  come  every  day 
to  pick  the  grain  out  of  my  straw ;  I  kept  them,  and 
they  gave  me  young  ones.  I  venture  to  take  the  liberty 
of  presenting  you  with  this  pair,  in  token  of  my  respect 

^  Memolres  de  Latude,  passim.  Legendes  et  Archives  de  la  Bastilley 
p.  183. 

125 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  affection.  I  implore  you  to  have  the  goodness  to 
accept  them,  with  as  much  pleasure  as  I  have  in  offering 
them  to  you. 

*'  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  the  profoundest 
respect,  madame,  your  very  humble  and  very  obedient 
servant, 

"  Danry  (for  eleven  years  in  the  Bastille)." 

But  still  Danry  remained  a  prisoner,  and  as  time  went 
on,  his  temper  grew  more  and  more  embittered,  and  the 
letters  he  addressed  to  the  favourite  are  anything  but 
complimentary. 

"You  will  see  yourself  one  day,"  he  writes,  "like 
that  owl  in  the  park  at  Versailles ;  all  the  birds  throw 
water  over  him  to  choke  and  drown  him  ;  if  the  King 
happened  to  die,  before  two  hours  had  passed  some  one 
would  set  five  or  six  persons  at  your  heels,  and  you 
would  yourself  pack  to  the  Bastille."     And  again  : 

"Be  on  your  guard  !  When  your  prisoners  get  out 
and  publish  your  cruelties  abroad,  they  will  render  you 
odious  to  Heaven  and  the  whole  earth." 

After  which,  one  can  scarcely  be  surprised  that  the 
writer  remained  under  lock  and  key. 

When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1764,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  was  taken  seriously  ill.  Chevalier,  major 
of  the  Bastille,  who  appears  to  have  shown  the  prisoner 
great  kindness,  came  to  Danry's  room  and  said  to  him, 
"  Monsieur,  write  four  words  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
and  you  may  rest  assured  that  in  less  than  a  week  you 
will  have  recovered  your  freedom."  Danry,  however,  ob- 
stinately refused,  alleging  that  he  would  sooner  die  than 
again  appeal  to  "  that  implacable  shrew,"  and  the  oppor- 
tunity was  allowed  to  slip. 

126 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

The  marchioness  died  on  April  19,  1764,  but  it  was 
not  until  twenty  years  later  (March  24,  1784)  that 
Danry  finally  recovered  his  liberty.  For  his  continued 
detention  he  was  himself  wholly  to  blame.  Two  months 
after  the  favourite's  death,  Sartine,  who  had  become 
Lieutenant  of  Police  in  1759  and  had  from  the  first 
interested  himself  in  the  prisoner,  informed  Danry  of 
his  intention  of  applying  to  the  Government  for  his 
release  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  M.  Funck- 
Brentano  quotes  the  following  note,  dated  June  18, 
1764,  which  was  found  among  the  lieutenant's  papers: 
"  M.  Duval  (one  of  Sartine's  secretaries) — to  propose 
at  the  first  inspection  that  Danry  be  liberated  and  exiled 
to  his  own  part  of  the  country."  ^  But  Danry  seems  to 
have  conceived  the  idea  that  the  lieutenant  was  afraid 
of  him,  and  thereupon  determined  not  to  accept  his 
freedom,  unless  it  was  accompanied  by  substantial  com- 
pensation for  the  injustice  which  had  been  done  him ! 
Instead,  therefore,  of  thanking  Sartine  for  his  kindly 
intentions,  he  wrote  him  a  violently  abusive  letter,  and 
rendered  himself  so  insufferable  to  his  guardians,  that 
Chevalier  declared  that  he  would  "  wear  out  the  patience 
of  the  saintliest  monk." 

In  September  of  that  year  Danry  was  removed  to  the 
keep  of  Vincennes,  in  the  hope  that  a  period  of  solitary 
confinement  might  bring  him  to  reason,  and  here  it 
was  that  he  assumed  the  name  by  which  he  is  known 
to  history. 

He  had  learnt  from  a  sentinel  of  the  Bastille  of  the 
death  of  a  certain  Henri  Vissec  de  la  Tude,  a  colonel 
of  a  dragoon  regiment,  which  had  taken  place  at  Sedan 
three  years  before.     From  that  moment  he  determined 

1   Quoted  in  Legendes  et  Archives  de  la  Bastille,  p.   197. 
127 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

that  he  was  the  son  of  the  deceased  officer.  The  latter 
came  from  his  own  part  of  the  country,  he  was  a  noble- 
man and  rich,  and,  as  he  was  dead,  he  was  unable  to 
deny  the  paternity.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark 
that  a  more  impudent  claim  has  seldom  been  put  for- 
ward. The  Chevalier  de  la  Tude  never  knew  of  the 
existence  of  Jeanneton  Aubrespy,  and  when,  in  later  years, 
Danry  asked  the  children  to  recognise  him  as  their 
natural  brother,  they  indignantly  refused.  Nevertheless, 
the  rascal  now  took  to  signing  himself  "  Henri  Masers 
de  la  Tude,"  and  asserted  his  claims  so  unceasingly  that 
people  ended  by  believing  his  story. 

Of  course,  the  Vicomte  de  la  Tude  was  a  very  different 
person  from  Jean  Danry,  and  had  the  right  to  demand 
very  handsome  compensation  indeed  for  the  wrongs 
which  he  had  suffered.  In  a  letter  to  Sartine,  the 
prisoner  assesses  the  amount  at  150,000  livres,  with 
the  cross  of  St.  Louis  thrown  in.  The  Lieutenant  of 
Police  ignored  his  claim,  but  promised  to  set  him  free, 
"  provided  he  would  behave  himself  quietly  for  a  short 
time."  His  liberation,  on  his  own  showing,  was  but  a 
matter  of  days ;  he  chose,  however,  to  anticipate  it, 
and  on  November  23  made  his  escape  for  the  third 
time. 

His  modus  operandi^  like  that  on  the  occasion  of  his 
previous  escape  from  the  same  fortress,  fifteen  years 
before,  was  simplicity  itself.  He  was  taking  his  daily 
constitutional  on  the  bank  of  the  moat  in  charge  of  a 
warder.  A  dense  fog  came  on.  Danry  turned  to  his 
keeper  and  inquired  what  he  thought  of  the  weather. 
"  It's  very  bad,"  replied  the  man.  "  Yes ;  just  the 
weather  to  escape  in,"  rejoined  the  prisoner,  and  dis- 
appeared.    He    made    his    way    to   Paris,   where,   as   he 

128 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

was  without  resources,  he  was  constrained  to  write  to 
Sartine,  oiFering  to  overlook  the  past  in  return  for  an 
advance  of  10,000  crowns  of  the  150,000  which  he  had 
formerly  demanded.  In  reply  he  received  a  letter,  in- 
structing him  to  call  at  a  certain  house,  where  he  would 
find  a  sum  of  money  awaiting  him.  Thither  he  pro- 
ceeded, and  was  promptly  re-arrested. 

He  was  taken  back  to  Vincennes,  where  he  amused 
himself  for  the  next  ten  years  in  writing  abusive  letters 
to  Sartine,  whom  he  accused  of  "  swilling  down  his  crimes 
like  buttermilk,"  and  reading  books  dealing  with  sor- 
cery, which  convinced  him  that  all  his  troubles  had  been 
caused  by  the  perpetual  intervention  of  devils  evoked  by 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  brother,  the  Marquis  de 
Marigny. 

The  authorities  gradually  came  to  believe  that  his 
mind  was  unhinged,  and  when,  in  August  1775,  Male- 
sherbes  made  his  celebrated  inspection  of  prisons,  he 
reported  that  Latude  had  exhibited  "  indubitable  signs 
of  insanity." 

The  result  of  his  report  was  that  a  few  weeks  later  the 
prisoner  was  transferred  to  Charenton,  an  asylum  which 
was  under  the  direction  of  a  religious  order  known  as  the 
Freres  de  la  Charite^  and  whither  his  old  companion, 
Allegre,  had  preceded  him  in  1763.  Here  he  behaved 
himself  so  well,  that  on  June  5,  1777,  he  was  not 
only  discharged  as  cured,  but  given  his  liberty,  on 
his  signing  an  undertaking  to  depart  immediately  for 
Languedoc. 

This  undertaking  Latude  did  not  trouble  himself  to 
fulfil,  and  the  first  use  he  made  of  his  freedom  was  to 
introduce  himself  to  a  lady  of  quality  and  extort  a 
considerable   sum   by   menaces.       In   consequence,    after 

129  X 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

being  at  large  for  rather  less  than  six  weeks,  he  was  again 
arrested  and  conducted  to  the  Chatelet  and  thence  to 
Bicetre,  the  thieves'  prison,  where  he  had  reason  to  regret 
the  fleshpots  of  the  Bastille  and  Vincennes,  as  the  diet 
consisted  principally  of  bread  and  water. 

Seven  years  elapsed  before  his  prison  doors  again 
opened,  but  when  they  did,  it  was  for  him  to  emerge 
in  a  positive  blaze  of  triumph.  Times  had  changed; 
the  influences  which  were  to  bring  about  the  Revolution 
were  beginning  to  make  themselves  felt  on  all  sides ; 
people  were  full  of  compassion  for  the  victims  of  despotic 
government.  Moreover,  the  circumstances  connected 
with  his  final  release  were  full  of  attraction  for  romantic 
minds.  A  drunken  turnkey  happened  to  drop  a  memorial, 
which  Latude  had  charged  him  to  carry  to  some  Minis- 
ter or  other  influential  personage,  at  the  corner  of  the 
Rue  des  Fosses-Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.^  A  certain 
Madame  Legros,  the  wife  of  a  small  tradesman,  picked 
it  up.  So  moved  was  this  good  woman,  who  doubtless 
had  her  full  share  of  the  sentimentality  of  the  day,  at 
the  harrowing  description  which  the  writer  gave  of  his 
sufferings  that  she  straightway  resolved  to  make  it  the 
aim  of  her  life  to  obtain  his  deliverance.  By  degrees  one 
great  man  after  another  promised  her  his  support ;  copies 
of  the  prisoner's  memorials  were  circulated  in  every 
drawing-room  ;  visitors  of  the  highest  distinction  began 
to  flock  to  Bicetre.  Finally,  the  Queen  deigned  to 
interest  herself  on  the  unfortunate  man's  behalf,  and,  on 

1  Latude  was  constantly  bombarding  the  King  and  the  Ministers  with 
memorials  on  every  conceivable  subject.  At  one  time,  it  was  a  suggestion 
for  increasing  postal  facilities  ;  at  another,  a  scheme  for  the  erection  of 
public  granaries ;  and  on  a  third,  a  plan  of  battle  for  giving  unheard-of 
strength  to  a  column  of  men  three  deep. 

130 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

March  24,  1784,  the  captive  was  released  and  a  pension 
of  400  livres  bestowed  upon  him. 

Latude  speedily  became  one  of  the  lions  of  Paris ;  he 
was  invited  everywhere  ;  a  public  subscription  was  opened 
for  his  benefit ;  President  Dupaty  gave  him  a  pension  of 
500  livres,  the  Due  d'Ayen  another  of  300,  and  the 
notorious  Duchess  of  Kingston,  who  had  fled  to  France 
to  escape  the  consequences  of  her  bigamous  marriage, 
remembered  him  in  her  will.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
Revolution  broke  out  that  the  great  man  shone  forth  in 
all  his  glory.  Then  all  parties  vied  with  one  another  to 
do  him  honour  ;  his  portrait  with  the  famous  rope-ladder 
was  exhibited  in  the  Salon  ;  his  Memoires — a  tissue  of 
calumnies  and  lies — went  through  twenty  editions  in  less 
than  three  years  ;  a  deputation  from  the  principal  theatres 
offered  him  free  admission  to  all  performances,  and  the 
Legislative  Assembly  voted  him  a  pension  of  2000  livres, 
without  prejudice  to  the  pension  of  400  livres  awarded 
him  by  Louis  XVL 

In  September  1793  Latude  brought  an  action  for 
damages  against  the  heirs  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
and  was  awarded  60,000  livres.  Several  writers  have 
asserted  that  of  this  sum  the  plaintiff  only  received 
10,000  livres,  but  this  was  not  the  case.  The  balance  of 
50,000  livres  was  subsequently  paid  him  in  good  farm 
lands  situated  in  La  Beauce,  and  though  when  the  estates 
of  Madame  de  Pompadour  were  sequestrated,  these  farms 
were  taken  from  him,  he  managed  to  induce  the  Directory 
to  restore  them.^ 

The  remainder  of  Latude's  life  was  passed  in  ease  and 
luxury,  for  what  with  his  pensions,  the  proceeds  of  his 
farms,  the  sale  of  his  books,  and  the  money  brought  in 

^   Legendes  et  Archives  de  la  Bastille,  p.  228. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

by  the  exhibition  of  his  rope-ladder,  which  made  the  round 
of  the  principal  towns  in  both  France  and  England,  he 
was  in  receipt  of  a  very  comfortable  income  indeed. 
His  long  imprisonment  does  not  appear  to  have  affected 
his  health,  and  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  we  hear  of  him 
as  "active  and  gay,  and  taking  long  walks  every  day 
without  experiencing  the  least  fatigue."  He  died  on 
New  Year's  Day,  1805,  of  pneumonia.  Few  victims  of 
despotism  have  excited  more  sympathy  than  Latude — and 
few  have  deserved  it  less. 


»32 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  influence  extending  to  every  depart- 
ment of  the  State — She  abuses  her  patronage — Her  apartment 
in  the  Chateau  of  Versailles —  Rigid  etiquette  observed  there — 
"What  an  exceedingly  comfortable  bed,  Madame  !  " — Anec- 
dote of  the  Marquis  de  Souvre — Madame  de  Pompadour's 
toilette  a  Court  function — Anecdote  related  by  Marmontel — 
The  favourite's  household  at  Versailles  —  Her  passion  for 
building  and  acquiring  landed  property  —  Her  purchase  of 
Crecy — The  Duchesse  de  Luynes's  description  of  it — She 
buys  La  Celle — A  surprise  for  the  King — Her  Hermitage  at 
Versailles — Her  hotel  at  Versailles — She  buys  the  Hotel 
d'Evreux  in  Paris — Her  Hermitages  at  Fontainebleau  and 
Compiegne — She  builds  the  Chateau  of  Bellevue — A  palace  of 
enchantment — Enormous  sums  expended  by  the  favourite  upon 
it — Louis  XV. 's  first  visit  to  the  chateau — Its  formal  in- 
auguration— Other  properties  of  Madame  de  Pompadour — 
Reported  negotiations  with  Frederick  the  Great  for  the  pur-  / 
chase  of  the  Principality  of  Neuchatel. 

So  with  all  her  enemies  subdued,  or  at  least  held  in 
check,  Madame  de  Pompadour  began  to  reign  in  real 
earnest,  and  her  influence  to  make  itself  felt  in  every 
department  of  the  State.  In  the  Army,  Baron  de  Mont- 
morency and  the  Marquis  de  la  Salle,  the  tenor  of  the 
Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements,  were  through  her 
intercession  appointed  respectively  governors  of  Salins 
and  La  Marche  over  the  heads  of  a  number  of  senior 
officers,  including  several  Marechals  de  France.     In  the 

133 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Diplomatic  Service,  the  Abb6  de  Bernis,  who,  soon  after 
his  patroness's  installation  at  Versailles,  had  been  re- 
warded for  the  assistance  he  had  rendered  her  in  the 
composition  of  her  love-letters  by  a  pension  on  the 
Treasury  and  free  quarters  in  the  Tuileries,  was  in  175 1 
sent  as  Ambassador  to  Venice.  In  the  Royal  Household, 
she  obtained  for  the  husband  of  her  friend  and  flatterer, 
Madame  de  Sassenage,  the  reversion  of  the  post  of  First 
Gentleman  of  the  Bedchamber,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  Dauphin  had  solicited  the  same  office  on  behalf  of  a 
member  of  the  Rohan  family.  In  the  department  of 
Finance,  she  is  said  to  have  appointed  in  the  space  of  a 
few  months  twelve  farmers-general  and  no  less  than  two 
hundred  sous-fermiers  ;  while  in  that  of  Police,  she  caused 
one  Bayle,  a  distant  relative  of  her  own,  to  be  made 
Governor  of  the  Bastille.  That  she  was  not  too 
scrupulous  as  to  the  means  she  employed  to  push  the 
fortunes  of  her  allies  the  following  incident  will  show. 

Her  cousin  and  assiduous  flatterer,  Madame  d'Estrades, 
desired  the  post  of  dame  d'atour  to  the  King's  daughters, 
and  Madame  de  Pompadour  had  promised  that  she  should 
have  it.  The  then  occupant  of  the  post  was  a  certain 
Madame  de  la  Lande,  who  had  been  governess  to  Louis 
XV.  and  the  Dauphin,  and  made  it  her  proud  boast  that 
she  had  been  present  at  the  birth  of  every  member  of 
the  Royal  Family.  This  old  lady  was  most  devotedly 
attached  to  the  princesses  ;  her  whole  soul  was  wrapped 
up  in  the  duties  of  her  office,  and  no  consideration  would 
have  induced  her  to  resign  ;  while  the  King,  who,  with  all 
his  faults,  was  kind-hearted,  would  never  have  con- 
sented to  dismiss  her,  even  to  please  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour. The  favourite  and  Madame  d'Estrades  were, 
therefore,   not   a   little  puzzled  how  to  get  rid  of  her, 

134 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

until  Baron  de  Montmorency,  whom  they  consulted, 
told  them  that  he  thought  he  could  find  a  way  out  of 
the  difficulty,  if  they  would  leave  the  matter  in  his 
hands.  This  they  readily  agreed  to  do,  and  Montmorency, 
accordingly,  went  to  Madame  de  la  Lande  and,  repre- 
senting that  he  had  been  sent  by  Louis  himself,  informed 
her  that,  owing  to  some  changes  which  were  shortly  to  be 
made  in  the  Royal  Household,  it  was  the  monarch's  wish 
that  she  should  resign  her  post  in  favour  of  Madame 
d'Estrades.  He  added  that,  of  course,  the  King  desired 
her  to  understand  that  she  was  under  no  compulsion  to 
do  so,  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  (Montmorency)  could 
not  disguise  from  her  the  fact  that  a  refusal  on  her  part 
might  entail  considerable  inconvenience  on  the  Royal 
Family. 

The  loyal  old  lady,  always  accustomed  to  interpret 
the  slightest  wish  of  her  sovereign  as  a  command,  and 
never  suspecting  for  a  moment  that  she  was  being  duped, 
at  once  sent  in  her  resignation,  although  she  was  nearly 
heartbroken  at  the  thought  of  parting  from  her  beloved 
princesses,  and  Madame  d'Estrades  obtained  the  coveted 
post ;  while  Montmorency's  services  were  shortly  after- 
wards rewarded  by  the  cordon  hleu^  which  he  displayed  as 
proudly  as  if  it  had  been  earned  by  some  gallant  feat  of 
arms. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  gratification  of  seeing 
her  friends  and  flatterers  occupying  lucrative  posts  in 
the  State  and  at  Court  was  the  only  advantage  Madame 
de  Pompadour  derived  from  the  exercise  of  her  patron- 
age. She  had  not  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the 
financial  circles  of  Paris  for  nothing  ;  and  the  Marquis 
d'Argenson  brings  very  serious  charges  against  her.  He 
accuses  her  of  selling  commissions  in  the  army,  orders, 

135 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

decorations,  and  appointments  of  all  kinds,  and  even 
passports,  whereby  the  holders  were  enabled  to  evade  the 
heavy  export  duties  then  in  force.  He  asserts  that  she 
received  50,000  crowns  from  one  Bercy  for  obtaining  for 
him  the  post  of  Intendant  des  Finances^  1 00,000  francs  from 
a  merchant  of  La  Rochelle  for  inducing  the  Government 
to  settle  some  heavy  claims  which  he  had  against  them, 
and  no  less  a  sum  than  half  a  million  francs  from  the 
celebrated  Dupleix  for  procuring  him  the  cordon  rouge. 
D'Argenson  was,  of  course,  bitterly  hostile  to  the 
favourite,  and  his  statements  should,  therefore,  be  ac- 
cepted with  a  certain  amount  of  reserve  ;  nevertheless, 
the  fact  remains  that,  whereas  Madame  de  Pompadour 
came  to  Court  in  1745  with  very  little  capital  beyond  her 
beauty  and  accomplishments,  she  was  a  few  years  later 
an  extremely  wealthy  woman,  so  wealthy  that  she  was 
able  to  discharge  her  father's  debts,  amounting  to  400,000 
livres ;  advance  a  very  large  sum  of  money  to  the  im- 
pecunious Due  de  Chaulnes,  as  an  inducement  to  him  to 
consent  to  his  son's  marriage  with  her  daughter,  Alex- 
andrine d'Etioles;  maintain  an  immense  staff  of  servants; 
purchase  town  and  country  houses,  and  accumulate 
precious  stones  and  costly  works  of  art.  All  this  could 
not  possibly  be  done  upon  the  income  which  the  King 
allowed  her,  liberal  as  that  was,^  and  it,  therefore,  follows 

^  M.  Le  Roi  In  his  Curiosites  h'lstor'iques  gives  some  interesting  infor- 
mation on  this  subject.  The  first  year  of  her  "  reign  "  it  appears  that 
the  marchioness  received  a  monthly  allowance  of  24,000  livres.  During 
the  next  four  years  it  varied,  but  occasionally  rose  as  high  as  30,000  livres. 
After  1749,  when  the  King's  p.ission  had  cooled,  she  was  paid  a  regular 
pension  of  4000  livres.  From  1746-49  she  also  received  New  Year's 
gifts  to  a  considerable  amount,  50,000  in  1747  and  24,000  in  1749,  after 
which  they  were  apparently  discontinued,  at  any  rate,  they  do  not  figure 
in  her  accounts,  which  she  kept  with  great  care. 

136 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

that  she  must  have  had  other  and  exceedingly  lucrative 
sources  of  revenue. 

Versailles  though  at  this  period  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent palaces  in  Europe,  was  also  one  of  the  least 
comfortable  from  a  residential  point  of  view ;  indeed  its 
splendour  could  hardly  have  existed  save  at  the  expense 
of  its  convenience.  Even  the  apartments  of  the  Queen 
and  her  daughters  were  small  and  ill-constructed,  while 
many  of  the  principal  Court  officials  were  forced  to  put 
up  with  entresols  little  better  than  garrets.  But  the  suite 
occupied  by  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  the  magnificent 
one  formerly  inhabited  by  Madame  de  Montespan,  the 
mistress  of  le  Grand  Monarque^  and  scarcely  inferior  to 
that  of  the  King,  which  lay  immediately  above  it,  and 
with  which  it  communicated  by  means  of  a  private  stair- 
case. Here  the  haughty  favourite  insisted  that  the  most 
rigid  etiquette  should  be  observed — etiquette  which  re- 
called that  in  vogue  in  the  early  years  of  the  previous 
reign,  the  records  of  which  Madame  de  Pompadour  was 
shrewdly  suspected  of  having  studied.  A  single  arm- 
chair, that  occupied  by  the  lady  herself,  intimated  to 
all  who  entered  that  they  were  expected  to  remain 
standing  in  the  presence  of  the  marchioness  ;  and  such 
was  the  servility  with  which  the  woman  whom  they  had 
once  scorned  and  ridiculed  was  now  treated  by  the  pliant 
courtiers,  that  it  was  seldom  indeed  that  any  one  was 
found  bold  enough  to  protest  against  this  arrogant 
assumption  of  royal  privilege.^ 

"^  In  October  1752  the  King  accorded  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  the 
honours  of  a  duchess,  the  most  important  of  which  was  the  privilege  of 
remaining  seated  in  the  royal  presence.  Why  she  never  received  the  title 
does  not  appear  to  be  known. 

137 


1 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

On  one  occasion,  however,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  after 
Madame  de  Pompadour  had  sujfFered  him  to  remain  in 
the  posture  of  a  suppliant  for  some  minutes,  walked 
across  the  room  to  her  bed,  and  coolly  seated  himself  upon 
it,  remarking,  as  he  did  so,  "  What  an  exceedingly  com- 
fortable bed,  Madame !  "  The  Prince  de  Conti  being 
one  of  the  princes  of  the  blood,  the  favourite  was  com- 
pelled to  pocket  the  affront,  but  when,  shortly  afterwards, 
a  well-known  wit,  the  Marquis  de  Souvr^,  finding  himself 
in  a  like  case,  sat  down  suddenly  on  the  arm  of  her  own 
chair,  and  began  to  chatter  away,  as  was  his  wont,  without 
being  in  the  least  disconcerted  by  her  black  looks,  her 
wrath  knew  no  bounds,  and  she  complained  to  the  King 
that  the  marquis  had  grossly  insulted  her,  Louis,  to 
appease  her,  promised  to  send  for  Souvre  and  reprimand 
him,  and,  accordingly,  when  the  latter  appeared  in  answer 
to  the  royal  summons,  began  rather  awkwardly  to  repre- 
sent to  him  the  impropriety  of  his  behaviour.  To  which 
the  wag  replied,  "  Sire,  I  was  deadly  tired,  and,  as  I  did 
not  know  where  to  sit  down,  I  sat  down  where  I  could." 
The  King,  comprehending  the  absurdity  of  the  situation, 
burst  out  laughing,  and  the  matter  ended.  The  favourite, 
however,  did  not  forget  poor  Souvre,  and  when,  some 
time  afterwards,  that  gentleman,  hearing  that  the  mar- 
chioness proposed  taking  lessons  in  German,  remarked, 
with  more  wit  than  discretion,  that  "  he  was  surprised 
to  hear  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  wished  to  learn 
German,  as  she  had  not  yet  left  off  murdering  French," 
he  received  an  order  to  retire  from  Court. 

But  Conti  and  Souvr^  were  isolated  cases  ;  no  one  else 
seemed  in  the  least  inclined  to  follow  their  example. 
People  stood  on  the  staircase  outside  the  favourite's 
apartments  awaiting  the  hour  of  her  toilette,  just  as  they 

138 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

thronged  the  ante-chambers  of  the  Ministers  ;  even  the 
foreign  Ambassadors,  by  the  King's  express  desire,  paid 
their  court  to  her  as  they  did  to  the  Queen.  An  episode 
which  Marmontcl  relates  in  his  Mhnoires  will  convey 
some  idea  of  the  importance  attached  to  the  slightest 
mark  of  favour  bestowed  by  this  all-powerful  woman  : — 
"  While  the  manuscript  of  my  play  ^  was  still  in 
Madame  de  Pompadour's  hands,  I  appeared  one  day  at 
her  toilette,  where  I  found  a  crowd  of  courtiers  newly  come 
from  the  King's  levee.  She  was  surrounded  by  them, 
and,  either  because  there  were  some  there  whom  she  did 
not  care  to  notice,  or  because  she  was  tired  of  having 
so  many  people  about  her,  she  exclaimed,  immediately 
she  caught  sight  of  me,  '  I  have  something  to  say  to 
you '  and,  leaving  her  toilette,  went  into  her  cabinet, 
whither  I  followed.  It  was  merely  to  return  my  manu- 
script, with  her  remarks  pencilled  upon  it ;  but  she  was 
five  or  six  minutes  pointing  out  the  places  marked,  and 
explaining  her  criticisms.  Meanwhile  the  whole  circle  of 
courtiers  stood  round  the  toilette  awaiting  her  return. 
She  again  entered  the  room,  while  I,  concealing  the 
manuscript,  went  modestly  to  resume  my  place.  I 
strongly  suspected  that  so  unusual  an  incident  would  not 
be  without  its  effect,  but  the  impression  it  produced  on 
all  present  far  exceeded  my  expectations.  Every  eye  was 
fixed  upon  me  ;  little  salutations,  sweet  smiles  of  friend- 
ship were  addressed  to  me  from  every  side  ;  and  before 
leaving  the  room,  I  had  received  invitations  to  dinner 
sufficient  to  last  me  for  at  least  a  week.  What  do  I 
say }  A  nobleman,  a  man  with  a  ribbon  at  his  breast, 
whom  I  had  occasionally  dined  with  at  Madame  de  la 
Popliniere's,    took     hold    of    my    arm     and    whispered, 

^   L,es  Funerailles  de  Sesostrls. 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

'  Won't  you  speak  to  your  old  friends  ? '  Amazed  at 
his  meanness,  I  bowed  and  said  to  myself,  '  Ah  !  what  a 
fine  thing  is  favour,  since  its  very  shadow  confers  such 
singular  importance.'  "  ^ 

It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's household  was  in  full  accordance  with  the  almost 
regal  state  she  had  thought  fit  to  assume.  An  attorney 
of  the  Chatelet  de  Paris,  named  Collin,  who  had  been  her 
parents'  legal  adviser,  abandoned  the  law,  in  which  he 
enjoyed  a  considerable  practice,  to  become  the  major- 
domo  of  the  King's  mistress,  who,  more  for  her  own 
gratification  than  his,  procured  for  him  the  cross  of 
Saint-Louis.  Her  two  waiting-women,  the  chief  of 
whom  was  Madame  du  Hausset,  to  whose  Memoires 
we  are  indebted  for  much  that  we  know  about  the 
marchioness's  private  life,  were  both  members  of  noble 
families.  The  equerry  who  walked  by  the  side  of  her 
sedan-chair,  with  her  cloak  upon  his  arm,  ready  to  cover 
her  shoulders  whenever  she  alighted,  was  a  certain 
Chevalier  d'Henin,  a  cadet  of  one  of  the  oldest  families 
in  Guienne  and  a  relative  of  the  Prince  de  Chimay ; 
while  the  physician  whose  services  she  had  exclusively 
retained  and  who  occupied  a  suite  of  apartments  near 
her  own,  was  none  other  than  the  celebrated  Quesnay, 
surgeon-in-ordinary  to  the  King.  In  addition  to  these, 
her  household  included  a  steward,  a  maitre  d'hotel,  an 
overseer,  a  butler,  four  footmen,  a  chef,  an  under-chef, 
two  assistant  cooks,  a  pastry-cook,  a  doorkeeper,  two 
head-porters,  two  under-porters,  a  concierge,  a  house- 
keeper, a  wardrobe-woman,  three  sewing-maids,  two 
clerks  to  keep  the  household  accounts,  an  assistant  clerk, 
three  coachmen,   three    postilions,   four    grooms,  and  a 

^    Memoires  de  Marmontel  (edit.   1804),  i.  334. 
1 40 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

torchbearer.  In  all,  her  staff  of  servants  comprised 
between  fifty  and  sixty  persons,  who  drew  in  salaries 
no  less  a  sum  than  42,492  livres.^ 

We  should  bear  in  mind  that  this  sum,  large  as  it  is, 
especially  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  price  of 
commodities  at  this  period,  represents  merely  the  wages 
of  the  servants  of  the  marchioness  at  Versailles.  If  to 
this  is  added  the  cost  of  livery,  board,  and  fuel,  the 
maintenance  of  her  various  town  and  country  houses, 
her  frequent  journeys,  and  her  entertainments  and 
charities,  the  ordinary  expenses  of  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour must  have  amounted  to  at  least  one  million  livres 
per  annum. ^ 

But  this  prodigality,  astounding  as  it  may  seem,  was 
trifling  in  comparison  with  the  enormous  sums  which  the 
favourite  spent  in  purchasing  estates  and  building  hotels 
and  country  houses.  Her  passion  for  building,  indeed, 
amounted  to  almost  a  mania,  and  absorbed  every  franc 
of  her  available  capital,  so  that  at  the  time  of  her  death, 
though  possessing  in  real  estate,  furniture,  works  of  art, 
and  jewellery  a  large  fortune,  thirty-seven  louis  represented 
the  whole  of  her  assets  in  coin  of  the  realm. 

The  first  property  which  Madame  de  Pompadour 
acquired  was  the  beautiful  estate  of  Crecy,  near  Dreux, 
purchased  in  1746  for  650,000  livres.  No  sooner  did 
she  enter  into  possession,  than  she  began  to  make  ex- 
tensive alterations.  Both  wings  of  the  chateau  were 
demolished  and  entirely  reconstructed,  while  the  gardens, 
which  were  not  laid  out  in  accordance  with  her  taste, 

^  Le  Roi's  Curios tfes  histor'iques,  Les  Depenses  de  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, passim. 

2  Campardon's  Madame  de  Pompadour  et  la  Cour  de  Louis  XV.,  p.  77. 

141 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

shared  the  same  fate.  The  improvements,  which  were 
carried  out  under  the  superintendence  of  1' Assurance, 
the  comptroller  of  the  buildings  at  Marly,  and  the 
architect  d'Isle,  extended  over  two  years  and  cost  the 
marchioness  700,000  livres,  a  sum  which  was  con- 
siderably augmented  by  the  purchase  of  four  small 
estates  adjoining  Crdcy,  for  the  purpose  of  rounding  off 
her  property. 

The  Duchesse  de  Luynes,  who  visited  Crecy  in  1752, 
gives  the  following  description  of  it : — 

"  On  entering  the  chateau,  one  finds  oneself  in  a 
vestibule,  leading  into  a  salon  which  opens  on  to  the 
garden.  To  the  left  of  the  salon  are  three  rooms,  one 
of  which  is  an  assembly  room,  49  feet  8  inches  long, 
and  26  broad,  and  containing  six  windows.  There 
are  two  chimney-pieces,  both  on  the  same  side,  and 
eight  pier-glasses,  inclusive  of  those  over  the  chimney- 
pieces.  To  the  right  of  the  salon  which  opens  on  to 
the  garden  is  the  King's  suite  of  apartments,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  that  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  which 
consists  merely  of  a  bedroom,  a  study,  and  an  ante- 
chamber. There  is  no  grand  staircase,  but  several 
small  ones,  leading  to  a  corridor  in  which  there  are  a 
number  of  apartments,  admirably  distributed  and  beauti- 
fully furnished."  The  garden,  it  appears,  was  not  very 
large,  but  laid  out  with  exquisite  taste,  smooth-shaven 
lawns  and  beds  of  lovely  flowers  alternating  with  arbours 
and  shady  walks. ^ 

Louis  XV.  did  not  at  first  care  much  for  Crecy ;  but 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  by  constantly  consulting  him 
with  regard  to  the  improvements  she  was  contemplat- 
ing, soon   induced  him  to  take  an  interest  in  her  new 

^   Msmoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  xii.  20. 
142 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

property,  and,  as  his  taste  for  country  life  increased, 
he  frequently  visited  it,  and  on  one  occasion  held  his 
Council  of  State  there.  While  at  Crecy,  the  King 
usually  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  in  shooting, 
and  one  morning,  when  he  had  an  attack  of  gout  and 
was  unable  to  walk,  rather  than  lose  his  day's  sport,  he 
ordered  himself  to  be  wheeled  about  in  a  kind  of  bath- 
chair,  and  killed  on  this  occasion  more  than  a  hundred 
brace  of  birds. 

At  Cr6cy  Madame  de  Pompadour  received  on  several 
occasions  almost  the  entire  Court,  so  that  a  visitor 
might  have  fancied  himself  at  Choisy  or  Compiegne. 
In  September  175 1  we  find  the  King  arriving  there  with 
a  suite  which  included  the  Due  de  Chartres,  Prince  de 
Soubise,  Mar6chals  Belle-Isle  and  Luxembourg,  eight 
dukes,  fourteen  marquises  and  counts,  and  "  my  lord  " 
Thomond.  All  wore  the  Crecy  uniform,  that  is  to  say, 
a  costume  specially  designed  by  Louis  in  the  style  of 
that  worn  at  Choisy,  and  consisting  of  a  green  coat 
trimmed  with  lace  and  adorned  with  gold  buttons.  The 
visit  lasted  about  a  week,  and  every  one  was  charmed 
with  the  manner  in  which  Madame  de  Pompadour  acted 
the  part  of  hostess.  A  good  deal  of  high  play  seems  to 
have  gone  on,  and  large  sums  changed  hands,  the  Due 
de  Chartres  losing  six  hundred  louis.  The  younger 
members  of  the  party  amused  themselves  with  prisoners' 
base — a  game  to  which  the  great  Napoleon  was  much 
addicted,  even  after  he  became  First  Consul — in  the 
gardens ;  but  the  agility  displayed  by  the  Marquis  de 
Langeron,  the  intrepid  dancer  of  the  Theatre  des  Petits 
Appartements,  and  M.  d'Estissac,  both  of  whom  were  on 
the  shady  side  of  fifty,  quite  eclipsed  that  of  their  juniors. 

The  visits  of  Louis  XV.  to  Crecy,  accompanied  as  he 

143 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

generally  was  by  a  numerous  suite,  cost  him  a  great 
deal  of  money — d'Argenson  reckons  that  even  a  stay 
of  a  few  days  would  entail  the  expenditure  of  100,000 
livres — and  when  in  1755  the  King  resolved  to  reduce 
his  expenses,  or  rather  pretend  to  do  so,  as  a  concession 
to  public  opinion,  they  were  reluctantly  abandoned. 
Henceforth  Madame  de  Pompadour  seldom  visited  her 
estate,  but  the  neighbourhood  had  reason  to  be  grateful 
to  her,  as  she  built  a  house  for  the  cur6,  gave  dowries  of 
five  hundred  livres  a-piece  to  between  forty  and  fifty 
young  couples,  and  founded  a  hospital  with  accommoda- 
tion for  nearly  fifty  patients.^ 

The  possession  of  Crecy  and  its  dependencies,  far 
from  satisfying,  seems  only  to  have  stimulated  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  desire  for  lands  and  houses,  for,  after 
purchasing  a  little  chateau  at  Montretout,  which,  how- 
ever, she  soon  parted  with,  she  in  1747  bought  from 
Bachelier,  one  of  the  King's  valets-de-chamhre^  his  estate 
of  La  Celle,  beautifully  situated  on  the  summit  of  some 
rising  ground,  with  woods  on  either  side  of  it,  about 
three  miles  from  Versailles. 

La  Celle,  which  the  favourite  alludes  to  in  her  cor- 
respondence as  the  "  little  chateau,"  was  really  a  very 
substantial  house,  containing  nearly  twenty  guest- 
chambers,  and  with  the  inevitable  improvements,  without 
which  no  residence  belonging  to  Madame  de  Pompadour 
would  have  been  deemed  worthy  to  shelter  that  mag- 
nificent lady,  cost  her  between  three  and  four  hundred 
thousand  livres.     The  marchioness  made  but   little  use 

^  The  Due  de  Luynes  says  that  this  building  cost  between  500,000 
and  600,000  livres,  to  provide  which  the  marchioness  sold  part  of  her 
diamonds;  and  that  there  was  a  chaplain  and  a  house-surgeon  attached 
to  it. 

144 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

of  it,  notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  Versailles,  except 
in  summer,  when  she  would  sometimes  drive  out  to 
dine  or  sup,  and  now  and  again,  when  the  weather 
happened  to  be  exceptionally  hot,  spend  a  few  days 
there.  On  these  occasions  the  King  was  a  frequent 
visitor,  and  one  evening  in  August  1748  Madame  de 
Pompadour  prepared  for  him  a  little  surprise. 

All  the  invited  guests,  among  whom  were  the  four 
Secretaries  of  State,  had  received  tickets,  with  "  Bon 
pour  entrer "  inscribed  upon  them,  and  just  as  they 
were  finishing  supper,  music  was  heard  approaching, 
and  a  number  of  musicians,  dressed  in  fantastic  costumes, 
made  their  appearance.  Thereupon  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour rose  and  sang  a  song  in  praise  of  the  King, 
each  verse  concluding  with  the  words,  "  Venez^  venez, 
suivez-moi  tous ! "  after  which,  the  musicians  leading 
the  way,  the  company  proceeded  to  one  of  the  planta- 
tions adjoining  the  house,  where,  in  a  little  theatre, 
which  had  been  constructed  for  the  purpose,  a  number 
of  children,  assisted  by  the  indefatigable  Marquis  de 
Courtenvaux,  the  premier  danseur  of  the  Theatre  des 
Petits  Appartements,  performed  a  ballet  for  their 
amusement.  Then,  the  musicians  preceding  them  as 
before,  they  made  their  way  to  the  plantation  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  chateau,  to  find  there  a  charming 
little  pavilion  and  all  preparation  made  for  a  ball. 
Here,  to  the  strains  of  an  excellent  band,  dancing  was 
kept  up  until  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  King 
remaining  until  half-past  three.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  retained  possession  of  La 
Celle  for  two  years  longer,  and  then  sold  it  for  about 
the  same  sum  as  it  had  cost  her. 

^   Memoir es  du  Due  de  Luyties,  ix.  88. 

145  K 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

In  1749  the  favourite  took  it  into  her  head  that  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  have  a  little  house  in  a  quiet  part 
of  Versailles,  to  which  she  could  occasionally  retire  for 
a  day  or  two's  rest  from  the  strain  of  Court  life ;  and 
the  King  having  made  her  a  present  of  twelve  acres 
of  land  adjoining  what  was  known  as  the  Little  Park, 
she  built  there  a  villa,  which  she  called  the  Hermitage. 
The  house  was  small,  but  exquisitely  furnished,  while 
the  garden  was  a  perfect  bower  of  roses.  At  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  death,  the  Hermitage  became  the  pro- 
perty of  Louis  XV.,  and  was  inhabited  first  by  the 
Duchesse  de  Villars  and  afterwards  by  Mesdames 
Adelaide  and  Victor.  Under  the  Republic  it  was 
national  property,  and  was  let  to  a  restaurant-keeper, 
who  gave  fetes  and  masked  balls  there.  It  has  long 
since  disappeared,  but  the  name  is  preserved  in  that 
of  the  Rue  de  I'Ermitage. 

At  Versailles  the  marchioness  had  another  house, 
now  the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs,  close  to  the  palace, 
with  which  it  communicated  by  means  of  a  passage, 
thus  enabling  her  to  pass  to  and  fro  at  will.  On 
these  two  residences  the  favourite  expended  nearly 
half  a  million  livres. 

In  175 1  Louis  had  given  Madame  de  Pompadour  a 
suite  of  apartments  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Hotel  de 
Pontchartrain  in  Paris,  where  the  Ambassadors  Extra- 
ordinary and  their  suites  were  usually  accommodated. 
This  did  not  content  her,  however,  as  she  desired  to  have 
a  residence  of  her  own  in  the  capital,  and,  accordingly, 
two  years  later,  she  bought,  for  65,000  livres,  the  Hotel 
d'Evreux  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Honore,  which  she 
partially  rebuilt  and  furnished  in  the  most  extravagant 
fashion,  the   curtains   in   the    grand  salon  costing,  it   is 

146 


I 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

said,  between  five  and  six  thousand  livres  a-piece.^  Find- 
ing that  the  trees  in  the  Champs  Elysees  obstructed  the 
view  from  her  windows,  she  had  a  number  of  them 
cut  down,  after  which  she  actually  proposed  to  annex 
part  of  the  promenade  itself,  in  order  to  turn  it  into 
a  kitchen-garden  ;  but,  though  she  obtained  the  King's 
permission  to  do  so,  the  indignation  which  such  a 
proceeding  aroused  among  the  Parisians  caused  her  to 
abandon  the  idea.^ 

In  her  will  Madame  de  Pompadour  left  the  Hotel 
d'Evreux  to  the  King,  at  the  same  time  expressing  a 
desire  that  it  should  be  converted  into  a  palace  for 
the  Comte  de  Provence  (afterwards  Louis  XVIII. ). 
The  monarch,  however,  so  far  from  respecting  her 
last  wishes,  sold  it  to  the  financier  Beaujon,  who,  in 
his  turn,  disposed  of  it  to  Louis  XVI.  It  is  now  the 
Palace  of  the  Elysee. 

In  addition  to  her  Hermitage  at  Versailles,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  had  two  similar  residences,  one  at  Fon- 
tainebleau,  the  other  at  Compiegne.  The  Hermitage 
of  Fontainebleau  was  situated  on  the  road  to  Bouron, 
opposite  one  of  the  gardens  of  the  chateau  called  the 
New  Garden.  It  was  an  unpretentious  one -storied 
house.     On  the  ground  floor  were  a  dining-room  and 

1  At  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  the  Hotel  d'Evreux,  Madame  de 
Pompadour  wrote  to  one  of  her  friends  a  letter  which  would  seem  to 
imply  that,  whatever  might  be  thought  of  her  extravagance,  she  looked 
upon  herself  as  a  public  benefactress  :  "  People  laugh  at  my  passion  for 
building  ;  for  myself,  I  am  proud  of  my  so-called  madness,  which  provides 
so  many  poor  people  with  bread.  I  find  pleasure  not  in  gloating  over  my 
gold,  but  in  distributing  it." — Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts,  August  1859. 

2  One  morning  the  marchioness  discovered  that  during  the  night  the 
inscription  "  Hotel  de  Pompadour  "  had  been  removed  from  the  portal  of 
her  door,  and  the  words  "  Reg'tae  meretric'ts  Aedes  "  substituted. 

147 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

a  salon  "  large  enough  to  contain  six  card-tables," 
while  above  were  two  small  suites  of  rooms,  one  for 
the  marchioness,  the  other  for  her  then  bosom  friend, 
Madame  d'Estrades.  The  size  and  sumptuousness  of 
the  garden,  which  had  been  laid  out  from  designs  by 
I'Assurance,  more  than  atoned  for  any  lack  of  mag- 
nificence about  the  house ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  not 
surprising  to  learn  that  this  little  retreat  cost  the 
favourite  upwards  of  two  hundred  thousand  livres. 

The  Hermitage  of  Compiegne,  which,  like  that  of 
Versailles,  was  built  on  land  given  by  the  King,  was 
much  the  simplest  of  the  three,  and  was  a  comparatively 
cheap  acquisition.  Here  in  1756  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour gave  a  fete  on  the  occasion  of  the  taking  of  Port 
Mahon,  when  ribbons,  bonnets,  and  sword-knots  a  la 
Mahon  were  distributed  to  the  guests,  and  the  towns- 
folk were  regaled  with  fountains  of  wine. 

But  all  Madame  dc  Pompadour's  town  and  country 
houses,  not  excepting  Cr^cy  itself,  were  destined  to  be 
completely  eclipsed  by  the  splendid  mansion  which  she 
erected  on  the  slope  overlooking  the  Seine  between 
Sevres  and  Meudon.  This  chateau,  which  she  called 
Bellevue — a  name  which  it  fully  deserved,  as  it  com- 
manded one  of  the  finest  prospects  to  be  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Paris — was  begun  in  June  1748, 
from  designs  by  her  favourite  architect,  I'Assurance, 
who  was  subsequently  rewarded  for  his  services  by  the 
cross  of  Saint-Michel.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
its  construction  were  considerable,  for  the  soil  was  so 
sandy  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  make  excavations 
to  the  depth  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  before  attempting  to  lay  the  foundations ;  but 
eight  hundred  workmen,  encouraged  by  liberal  rewards 

148 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

from  the  marchioness,  laboured  so  indefatigably  that 
in  a  little  over  two  years  it  was  completed. 

Such  an  undertaking  so  close  to  the  capital  naturally 
gave  rise  to  much  speculation,  and  it  was  commonly 
reported  to  have  cost  Madame  de  Pompadour — or  the 
State — a  fabulous  sum.  D'Argenson  estimates  the 
expenditure  at  six  million  livres,  but  the  actual  cost 
would  appear  to  have  been  something  over  two  and  a 
half  millions.  The  occasion  was,  of  course,  too  good 
for  the  Parisians  to  let  slip,  and  the  favourite  was 
assailed  by  a  fresh  storm  of  Poissonades : — 

"  Fille  d'une  sangsue  et  sangsue  elle-meme, 
Polsson  d'une  arrogance  extreme, 
Etale  en  ce  chateau  sans  craiote  et  sans  efFroi, 
La  substance  du  peuple  et  la  honte  du  Roi." 

The  writer  of  the  above  verses,  a  certain  Chevalier  de 
Ress^guier,  an  officer  in  the  Guards,  "  learned  to  his 
sorrow  that  it  is  not  always  wise  to  speak  the  truth." 
He  was  degraded  from  his  rank  in  the  army,  condemned 
to  twenty  years'  imprisonment,  and,  at  the  expiration 
of  his  sentence,  ordered  to  leave  France. 

Anything  more  charming  than  the  Chateau  of  Bellevue 
it  would,  indeed,  have  been  difficult  to  imagine  ;  it  was  a 
veritable  palace  of  enchantment.  On  its  interior  every 
resource  of  art  was  lavished  by  Madame  de  Pompadour. 
Statues  by  Adam  and  Falconnet  adorned  the  vestibule. 
Oudry's  brush  had  embellished  the  dining-room,  Pierre's 
the  music-room,  that  of  the  elder  Brunetti  the  stair- 
case. On  the  walls  of  the  grand  salon  were  six  pictures 
by  Vanloo,  representing  Tragedy,  Comedy,  Painting, 
Sculpture,  Music,  and  Architecture.  The  same  painter 
had  decorated  the  apartments  intended  for  the  use   of 

149 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  King ;  Boulogne  and  Vernet  had  surpassed  them- 
selves in  those  reserved  for  the  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness, 
while  in  the  chatelaine's  own  suite  two  exquisite  dessus- 
de-porte  bore  testimony  to  the  genius  of  Boucher. 

The  pride  of  the  chateau,  however,  was  a  gallery, 
which  had  been  designed  by  the  marchioness  herself. 
Along  the  whole  length  of  this  gallery  were  placed 
wreaths  of  flowers,  beautifully  executed  by  the  sculptor 
Verbreck,  and  delicately  coloured  by  Dinant  and  Du 
Fort,  which  served  as  frames  for  a  series  of  pictures 
by  Boucher.  All  the  other  principal  rooms  contained 
paintings  by  different  masters  ;  the  furniture  was  of  the 
most  costly  kind,  carefully  selected  so  as  to  harmonise 
with  the  decorations  of  the  apartments  in  which  it  was 
placed,  and  the  carpets  were  the  richest  that  the  famous 
manufactory  of  La  Savonnerie  could  produce.^ 

Nor  had  the  exterior  of  the  chateau  been  neglected. 
The  gardens,  which  d'Isle  had  laid  out  with  infinite 
taste,  abounded  with  rare  flowers  and  shrubs,  to  supply 
which  every  country  in  Europe  had  been  placed  under 
contribution,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  might  be  seen 
examples  of  the  work  of  the  first  sculptors  of  the  day 
— a  marble  Apollo  by  Coustou,  a  statue  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour  as  Love  by  Pigalle,  one  of  Louis  XV. 
by  the  same  artist,  and  another  Amour  from  the  chisel 
of  Slodtz.2 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  list  of  expenses  show  that 

1  This  manufactory,  which  was  situated  at  Chaillot,  is  no  longer  in 
existence,  but  carpets  called  tapis  de  la  Savonnerie  are  still  manufactured 
at  the  Gobelins. 

2  Hurtaut's  Dicttonnaire  historique  de  la  ville  de  Paris  et  ses  environs 
(Paris  1779),  i.  564  et  seq.  E.  and  J.  de  Goncourt's  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, p.  94.  Lady  Dilke's  "  French  Architects  and  Sculptors  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century,"  ^ajj-/m. 

150 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

within  a  space  of  six  years,  namely,  from  1748  to  1754, 
she  distributed  to  different  artists  in  payment  for 
paintings  and  statuary  executed  for  Bellevue  2,983,047 
livres.  The  sum  expended  upon  the  gardens  is  not 
known,  but  one  writer  puts  it  as  high  as  800,000  livres. 
After  all  this  prodigality  it  is  not  a  little  amusing  to 
find  the  marchioness  writing  to  her  friend  Madame  de 
Lutzelbourg :  "  His  Majesty  has  paid  three  visits  to 
Bellevue.  The  house,  though  not  very  large,  is  charming, 
without  any  attempt  at  magnificence^  ^ 

The  first  visit  which   Louis  XV.  paid  to  Bellevue  was 
attended  by  a   series   of  unfortunate  contretemps.      The 
King  and  the  gentlemen  of   his    suite   arrived   clad    in 
the  "  Bellevue  uniform  " — purple  velvet  bordered  with 
gold    lace,    the    united    cost    of  which   is  said   to  have 
exceeded    one    hundred   thousand    livres ;    but    if    that 
most  severe  critic  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her 
entertainments,    the    Marquis    d'Argenson,     is    to     be 
believed,  the  artistic  effect  was  quite  spoiled  owing  to 
the   fact  that  the  valets-de-chambre  were  wearing   green 
liveries.     Then,  it  was  intended  to  celebrate  the  occasion 
by   the   illumination   of  the   chateau  and  a  magnificent 
display    of    fireworks ;    but    Madame    de    Pompadour, 
having  been  informed  that  an  immense  crowd  of  people 
was  coming  from   Paris   to   witness   the   spectacle,   and 
fearing  that,  in  the   present   state   of  public   feeling,  it 
might  be  made  another  cause  for  complaint  against  her, 
countermanded  the  arrangements  at  the  eleventh  hour. 
Again,  it  was  found  impossible  for  the  company  to  sit 
down  to  supper  in  the  dining-room,  or,  indeed,  in  any 
room    in    the    house,    as    all    the    chimneys    smoked   so 
abominably  that  the  guests  were  nearly  suffocated.     In 

1  Quoted  in  Ga'zette  des  Beaux- Arts,  August  1859. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

consequence,  a  move  had  to  be  made  to  an  annex  of 
the  chateau,  called  Le  Taudis,  a  change  in  the  pro- 
gramme which  was  not  effected  without  considerable 
trouble  and  delay.  To  crown  all,  the  King,  from  the 
combined  effects  of  the  cold,  the  smoking  chimneys, 
and  a  bad  attack  of  ennui,  was  in  anything  but  an 
amiable  mood,  and  the  poor  marchioness  was  ready  to 
cry  with  vexation. 

However,  Madame  de  Pompadour  received  ample 
compensation  for  her  disappointment  a  few  days  later, 
when  the  formal  inauguration  took  place.  On  this 
occasion  a  ballet,  called  U  Amour  architecte,  was  performed 
in  the  miniature  theatre  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  first  scene  repre- 
sented a  mountain  in  labour,  from  which  proceeded  a 
noise  like  thunder.  Presently  it  opened  and  disclosed 
the  Chateau  of  Bellevue  itself.  In  the  second,  the 
audience  found  themselves  watching  the  high  road  to 
Versailles.  A  large  coach  drove  across  the  stage  and 
overturned,  discharging  a  crowd  of  gaily-attired  peasants, 
who  consoled  themselves  for  their  mishap  by  executing 
a  number  of  dances.  This  ballet,  we  are  assured, 
afforded  the  King  infinite  pleasure. 

Besides  the  performances  in  the  theatre,  which  were 
discontinued  after  the  spring  of  1753,  Madame  de 
Pompadour  gave  a  number  of  concerts  at  Bellevue, 
at  which  the  first  artistes  of  the  day  assisted,  and  in 
September  1752  a  grand  f6te,  to  celebrate  the  Dauphin's 
recovery  from  an  alarming  attack  of  smallpox,  in  the 
hope,  apparently,  of  propitiating  that  prince,  whose 
aversion  to  the  favourite  had  only  increased  with  years. 
In  this,  however,  she  was  not  successful,  as,  with  the 
exception    of  the    King,    who    seems    to    have    enjoyed 

152 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

himself,  none  of  the  Royal  Family  accepted  her  invita- 
tion to  be  present. 

In  process  of  time  the  marchioness  tired  of  Bellevue, 
as  she  had  tired  of  La  Celle ;  and,  accordingly,  in  1757 
she  sold  it  with  all  its  contents  to  the  King  for  325,000 
livres,  about  a  seventh  part  of  the  sum  which  its  con- 
struction alone  had  cost  her,  and  rented  in  its  place  an 
estate  at  Saint-Ouen  belonging  to  the  Due  de  Gesvres, 
on  improving  which,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  her  property,  she  is  said  to  have  squandered 
in  five  years  half  a  million. 

In  addition  to  the  properties  which  we  have  enume- 
rated, Madame  de  Pompadour  purchased  the  manor  of 
Sevres  for  300,000  livres,  and  also  several  small  estates  in 
the  Limousin,  In  connection  with  the  latter,  a  curious 
story  is  told.  It  appears  that,  not  long  after  her  in- 
stallation at  Versailles,  she  became  temporarily  short 
of  money,  and  borrowed  10,000  livres  from  Roissy, 
the  Receiver-General,  giving  him  a  charge  upon  her 
Limousin  property.  When  the  time  came  for  the  loan 
to  be  repaid,  the  favourite  could  not,  or  would  not,  meet 
her  obligation.  Thereupon  Roissy,  who  appears  to  have 
been  an  independent  sort  of  person,  levied  a  distraint; 
and  the  property  was  put  up  to  auction,  and  bought  by 
the  creditor's  attorney,  from  whom  the  marchioness 
shortly  afterwards  repurchased  it.  Why  Madame  de 
Pompadour  preferred  to  allow  legal  proceedings  to  be 
taken  against  her  rather  than  discharge  so  trifling  a 
claim  is  not  stated,  but  of  the  truth  of  the  story  there 
can  be  little  doubt. 

The  last  acquisition  made  by  the  favourite  was  the 
marquisate  of  Menars,  in  Brie,  which  she  subsequently 
entailed   upon   her  brother  and  his  heirs.      She  appears 

153 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  have  paid  for  it  by  instalments,  and  it  is  not  known 
what  it  cost  her.  At  the  same  time  she  bought  a  little 
chateau,  called  Orill^,  not  far  from  Orleans,  in  order 
that  she  and  her  suite  might  break  their  journey  on 
their  way  to  and  from  Menars ;  but  as  she  only  paid 
one  visit  to  the  latter,  it  must  have  been  rather  a  useless 
purchase.  On  the  occasion  in  question  the  marchioness 
happened  to  cross  the  Loire  by  a  bridge  which  had 
recently  been  constructed  by  the  architect  Hupot. 
This  bridge  had  been  much  criticised  on  the  score  of 
safety ;  but,  the  day  after  the  favourite  had  used  it, 
a  wag  remarked  that  no  one  could  any  longer  doubt 
its  solidity,  since  it  had  successfully  supported  France's 
heaviest  burden. 

Madame  d'Epinay,  the  lady  who  was  beloved  of 
Grimm  and  used  to  provide  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau 
with  coats  and  hats,  and  the  publication  of  whose 
Memoires  drew  from  Sydney  Smith  the  remark  that 
if  all  the  delicacies  and  decencies  of  life  were  in  one 
scale  and  five  francs  in  the  other,  no  French  bookseller 
would  hesitate  a  moment  in  making  his  selection,  asserts 
that  Madame  de  Pompadour  at  one  time  contemplated 
a  purchase  beside  which  Cr^cy  and  Bellevue  would  have 
seemed  the  veriest  bagatelles.  According  to  her  account, 
the  marchioness,  fearing  that  in  the  event  of  Louis  XV. 's 
death  the  Dauphin  would  at  once  order  her  to  leave 
France,  opened  negotiations  with  Frederick  the  Great  for 
the  transfer  to  herself  of  the  Principality  of  Neuchatel. 
However,  nothing  came  of  it ;  probably  the  bargain 
which  the  King  wanted  to  drive  was  a  little  too  hard 
even  for  the  prodigal  favourite. 


54 


CHAPTER    IX 

Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  relatives — Her  affection  for 
them  one  of  the  best  traits  in  her  character — Her  father,  M. 
Poisson — His  outrageous  behaviour  a  source  of  humihation  to 
the  favourite  —  Her  letters  to  him  —  She  obtains  for  him  a 
patent  of  nobility — And  the  se'tgneurle  of  Marigny  —  Her 
brother,  Abel  Poisson — His  amiable  character — Madame  de 
Pompadour's  letters  to  him  during  his  absence  in  Italy — He 
becomes  Director  of  the  Board  of  Works — His  encouragement 
of  the  arts — His  undeserved  unpopularity — The  favourite  am- 
bitious for  his  advancement — He  is  made  Marquis  de  Marigny 
and  Secretary  to  the  Order  of  Saint-Esprit — His  extreme  sen- 
sitiveness to  his  sister's  position — Madame  de  Pompadour  tries 
in  vain  to  induce  him  to  make  a  great  marriage — He  marries 
Mademoiselle  Filleul — His  extraordinary  jealousy — Anecdote 
related  by  Marmontel — His  wife  leaves  him  for  the  Cardinal 
de  Rohan — His  death — Madame  de  Pompadour's  daughter, 
Alexandrine  d'Etioles  —  Her  education  at  the  Couvent  de 
I'Assomption — The  favourite's  matrimonial  projects  in  regard  to 
her — Sudden  death  of  Alexandrine — Madame  de  Pompadour's 
grief. 

One  of  the  best  traits  in  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
character,  and  one  which,  indeed,  goes  far  to  efface 
the  memory  of  her  faults,  was  her  affection  for  her 
relatives.  Whatever  love  that  cold  and  selfish  nature 
was  capable  of  bestowing  seems  to  have  been  reserved 
for  her  kindred,  and  no  sooner  was  she  firmly  established 
at  Versailles  than  she  turned  her  attention  to  pushing 
their  fortunes.      Nor  did   she   confine  her  good  offices 

^55 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  the  members  of  her  own  family  circle ;  the  most 
distant  connections — people  whom  she  had  never  seen 
and  scarcely  heard  of — came  in  for  a  share  of  her 
patronage  and  bounty,  and  to  her  credit  it  must  be 
observed  that,  however  humble  their  station  in  life,  the 
marchioness  was  never  in  the  least  ashamed  of  acknow- 
ledging the  relationship.  On  one  occasion,  she  was 
informed  that  there  was  a  woman  in  Paris  in  very 
poor  circumstances  who  claimed  to  be  a  distant  cousin 
of  her  own,  Madame  de  Pompadour  at  once  sent  her 
some  money  to  relieve  her  immediate  necessities,  while 
she  caused  inquiries  to  be  made  as  to  the  truth  of  her 
statements.  On  finding  them  to  be  correct,  she  sent 
for  her  to  come  to  Versailles,  received  her  with  the 
greatest  kindness,  gave  her  a  further  sum  of  money,  and 
settled  an  annuity  upon  her, 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  father  must  have  been  a 
sore  trial  to  her.  This  man,  who  had  neither  educa- 
tion, morals,  nor  even  decency,  was  a  perpetual  source 
of  humiliation  to  all  connected  with  him.  His  face 
was  red  and  bloated  with  drink,  his  dress  grotesque, 
and  his  language  abominable.  He  had  respect  neither 
for  himself  nor  any  one  else.  One  day  a  new  valet- 
de-chamhre^  who  did  not  know  him  and  was  not  much 
prepossessed  in  his  favour,  demurred  to  admitting  him 
to  the  marchioness's  apartments,  whereupon  he  cried  out, 
in  a  voice  which  might  have  been  heard  from  one  end 
of  the  palace  to  the  other,  **  You  impertinent  scoundrel, 
are  you  not  aware  that  I  am  the  father  of  the  King's 
mistress } "  On  another  occasion,  when  he  was  dining 
with  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  haute  finance 
of  Paris,  he  suddenly  burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter. 
"Do  you  know,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "what  makes  me 

156 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

laugh  ?  It  is  at  seeing  us  all  here  surrounded  by  such 
pomp  and  magnificence.  If  a  stranger  were  to  come 
in,  he  would  take  us  all  for  so  many  princes.  And  you, 
M.  de  Montmartel,  are  the  son  of  an  innkeeper  ;  you,  M. 
de  Savalette,  are  the  son  of  a  vinegar-merchant;  you, 
Bouret,  are  the  son  of  a  lackey.  As  for  myself,  every 
one  knows  who  I  am."  ^ 

And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  coarse,  brutal 
man  worshipped  his  beautiful  daughter  —  his  little 
queen,  his  Reinette^  as  he  used  to  call  her — and  she, 
though  his  conduct  must  have  often  made  her  blush 
with  shame,  seems  to  have  reciprocated  his  affection 
and  treated  him  with  unvarying  kindness,  as  her 
letters  abundantly  testify.  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
little  girl,  Alexandrine  d'Etioles,  was  a  great  bond 
of  sympathy  between  them. 

"  It  is  unkind  of  you,  my  dear  father,"  she  writes, 
"  not  to  have  given  any  sign  of  life  for  such  a  long 
time.  I  am  quite  sure  that  little  Alexandrine  has 
driven  Reinette  from  your  heart;  that  is  not  fair, 
and  I  must  needs  love  her  very  much  to  be  able  to 
pardon  her.  I  send  you  back  her  letters,  for  it 
appears  to  me  that  you  set  great  store  by  them." 

And  again  : — 

"I  went  yesterday  to  visit  your  Alexandrine  at 
La  Muette,  my  dear  father ;  I  found  her  well.  How- 
ever, you  ought  to  reproach  yourself  for  having  given 
her  indigestion.  Why  is  it  that  grandpapas  invari- 
ably spoil  their  grandchildren }  I  find  that  she  has 
grown  very  plain,  but  so  long  as  she  is  not  positively 
ugly,  I  shall  be  satisfied ;  for  I  am  very  far  from 
desiring  for  her  transcendent  beauty.     That  only  serves 

^    Vie privee  de  Louis  XV.,  m.   ii. 

^57 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  make  every  woman  one's  enemy,  which,  when 
you  include  their  friends,  means  two -thirds  of  the 
world."  ' 

In  1747  Madame  de  Pompadour  solicited  for  her 
father  a  patent  of  nobility,  and  a  patent  of  nobility 
was  duly  granted.  The  preamble  of  this  document, 
after  enumerating  the  important  services  rendered  by 
M.  Poisson  to  the  State,  and  declaring  him  to  have 
been  the  victim  of  a  most  deplorable  miscarriage  of 
justice,  thus  concludes  : — 

"  But  since  what  he  has  suffered  in  fortune  and 
still  more  in  reputation  can  only  be  repaired  by  such 
marks  of  our  approbation  as  we  are  accustomed  to 
bestow  upon  those  of  our  subjects  who  devote  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  the  State  with  the  same 
disinterestedness  and  zeal  as  the  Sieur  Poisson  has 
shown,  we  are  of  opinion  that  we  ought  to  bestow 
those  marks  of  our  approbation  upon  him,  the  same 
being  preferred,  as  he  gives  us  to  understand,  to  all  the 
compensation  and  recompense  which  he  has  the  right 
to  claim  ;  and,  to  this  end,  we  wish  to  honour  him  with 
a  title  which  he  may  transmit  to  his  descendants,  and 
which  may  be  for  them,  as  it  should  be  for  all  our 
subjects,  an  incentive  to  emulation  and  the  means  of 
encouraging  them  to  serve  the  State  and  the  Fatherland." 

Thus  was  effaced  the  memory  of  M.  Poisson's 
delinquencies,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  no 
longer  the  daughter  of  a  plebeian. 

Four  years  later,  M.  Poisson,  who  probably  cared 
very  little  whether  he  was  noble  or  plebeian  so  long 
as   his  wine-cellar    was   well  stocked,    received    a    mark 

^  Correspondance  de  Madame  de  Pompadour  avec  son  pere,  l^c.  ( Paris 
1878),  pp.  14  and  17. 

156 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

of  the  King's  favour  very  much  more  to  his  taste  in 
the  shape  of  the  seigneurie  of  Marigny,  in  Brie,  the 
rent-roll  of  which  amounted  to  nearly  eight  thousand 
livres.  For  the  sake  of  appearances,  this  estate  was  first 
purchased  on  behalf  of  the  King  for  200,000  livres,  and, 
shortly  afterwards,  transferred  to  Poisson,  "  in  discharge 
of  the  same  sum  due  to  him  for  supplies  and  moneys 
furnished  to  the  army" — a  transparent  fiction  which 
deceived  no  one. 

Poisson,  ennobled  and  enriched  through  his  daughter's 
dishonour,  lived  for  some  years  longer,  and  finally  died 
of  dropsy,  which  he  endeavoured  to  cure  by  means 
of  the  bottle,  at  the  age  of  seventy.  His  son,  Abel 
Poisson,  succeeded  to  his  estate. 

Abel  Poisson  was  a  very  different  kind  of  person 
from  his  bibulous  progenitor.  He  was  an  extremely 
handsome  young  man,  of  refined  tastes  and  pleasant, 
though  reserved,  manners,  and  entirely  devoted  to  his 
sister.  Soon  after  Madame  de  Pompadour's  accession 
to  power,  the  King,  who  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to 
young  Poisson  and  used  to  call  him  his  "  little 
brother,"  created  him  Marquis  de  Vandieres,  a  title 
which  the  wits  of  the  Court  forthwith  converted  into 
Marquis  d" Avant-hier  (the  marquis  of  the  day  before 
yesterday).  Louis  also  purchased  for  him  the  capitainerie 
of  Crenelle,  and  in  1749  appointed  him  to  the  sur- 
vivorship of  the  post  of  Director-General  of  the  Board 
of  Works,  an  office  which  included  the  supervision  of 
the  academies  and  art  collections  of  France. 

French  art  had  for  many  years  been  in  a  sadly 
neglected  state,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  was 
a  generous  patron  of  both  artists  and  sculptors,  and 
herself   an    amateur    engraver    of  no  mean  ability,  was 

159 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

ambitious  that  her  brother's  succession  to  the  director- 
ship— an  event  which  could  not  be  long  delayed,  as 
Lenormant  de  Tournehem,  the  present  occupant  of 
the  post,  was  now  an  old  man  and  in  very  bad 
health — should  be  signalised  by  a  great  revival.  She, 
therefore,  arranged  that  he  should  make  a  tour 
through  Italy,  in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  his 
future  position,  and  chose  as  his  companions  the 
architect  Soufflot,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  "  the 
only  architect  of  taste  and  genius  then  in  France," 
the  engraver  Cochin,  and  the  Abb6  Le  Blanc,  a  promi- 
nent art  critic  and  the  author  of  several  now  forgotten 
tragedies. 

The  tour  lasted  two  years,  and  was  a  time  of 
serious  study  for  the  young  man,  who  then  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  art  which  he  turned  to  good  purpose 
in  later  years.  By  his  sister's  directions,  he  lived 
in  a  state  of  great  magnificence,  kept  open  house  for 
artists  and  men  of  letters  wherever  he  went,  and 
brought  back  in  his  portfolios  drawings  by  Cochin 
of  all  the  finest  theatres  and  other  public  buildings 
which  he  met  with  in  his  travels,  with  a  view  to 
constructing  similar  ones  in  France.  During  his 
absence  the  marchioness  kept  up  an  active  corres- 
pondence with  him,  constituting  herself  his  guide, 
philosopher,  and  friend. 

Madame   de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

^^  December  2%,  1749. 

"You  have  done  well, yr^ro/,  not  to  bid  me  adieu,  for, 
although  it  is  very  necessary  for  you  to  undertake  this 
journey,  and  although  your  welfare  has  long  been  very 
dear  to  me,  I   should    have  experienced  much  pain  in 

160 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

parting  from  you.  I  will  not  again  remind  you  to 
send  me  news  of  yourself  often,  for  I  am  very  sure  you 
will  not  fail  to  do  so ;  but  what  I  would  impress  upon 
you,  above  all  things,  is  to  show  the  greatest  courtesy 
and  unvarying  discretion,  and  to  prove  yourself  a  man 
of  the  world  and  a  gentleman.  One  ought  to  be 
courteous  to  everybody ;  for  if  one  confines  one's  at- 
tentions to  people  whom  one  esteems,  one  would  be 
detested  by  nearly  the  whole  human  race.^  Do  not 
forget  the  talks  which  we  have  had  together,  and  do 
not  imagine  that,  because  I  am  young,  I  am  incapable 
of  giving  you  good  advice.  I  have  seen  so  many 
things  in  the  four  and  a  half  years  I  have  been  here 
[i.e.  at  Court),  that  I  am  more  experienced  than  a 
woman  of  forty.  Good-night,  dear  brother  ;  take  great 
care  of  yourself,  and  love  me  as  much  as  I  love  you." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  /o  her  Brother. 

'*  Choisy,  January  3,  1750. 

*'  I  have  received  your  letter  dated  from  Lyons,  my 
dear  brother,  and  I  should  still  be  in  ignorance  of  where 
to  address  my  reply  had  not  M.  Perrier  called  upon  me 
this  morning.  Keep  me  informed  in  future  as  to  your 
movements,  so  that  I  may  know  where  to  direct  my 
letters.  I  am  quite  of  your  opinion  with  regard  to  the 
feelings  one  experiences  on  parting  from  those  whom 
one    loves,   and    although    I   believed   that  I  loved  you 

^  Compare  this  advice  with  that  given  by  Lord  Chesterfield  to  his  son  in 
his  letter  of  November  11,  1752:  "I  paid  my  court  assiduously  and  skilfully 
enough  to  shining  and  distinguished,  figures,  such  as  ministers,  wits,  and 
beauties,  but  then  I  most  absurdly  and  imprudently  neglected  and  conse- 
quently offended  all  others.  By  this  folly  I  made  myself  a  thousand 
enemies  of  both  sexes." 

161  I. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

dearly,  I  did  not  imagine  that  your  departure  would 
cause  me  so  much  pain. 

"  I  am  quite  sure  that  you  will  have  nothing  but  good 
to  say  of  all  the  sovereigns  whom  you  will  see ;  but  as 
one  cannot  observe  too  much  reticence  when  speaking 
of  kings  and  their  families,  if  you  should  chance  to 
conceive  one  of  those  foolish  notions  to  which  people 
of  your  age  are  so  susceptible,  take  great  care  to  write 
nothing  about  it  to  any  one,  not  even  to  me,  for  you 
may  be  perfectly  certain  that  the  letters  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  brother  will  be  opened  at  Turin,  So  be 
very  cautious  indeed  when  you  have  anything  to  com- 
municate to  me  which  you  do  not  wish  known,  and  do 
not  write  to  me  except  by  the  couriers.^  It  is  very 
remiss  of  me  to  have  forgotten  to  warn  you  about  a 
matter  of  such  importance. 

"  I  have  had  a  little  cold  in  my  head,  but  it  has  now 
gone.  The  King  also  has  a  slight  cold,  but  I  trust  it 
will  not  develop  into  anything  serious.  Good-night, 
cher  honhomme ;  I  will  send  you  your  New  Year's  gifts 
when  I  think  that  they  will  arrive  safely." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

'■^February  6,  1750. 

*'  I  have  been  impatiently  waiting  news  of  you,  my  dear 
brother,  especially  since  that  accident  happened  to  the  two 
Jesuits  on  Mont  Cenis.  I  should  have  been  still  more 
alarmed  had  I  known  all  that  I  have  since  learned  from  the 
account  which  you  have  sent  my  father.  Happily,  you 
are  at  Turin,  so  you  have  no  more  risks  to  run, 

1  Madame  de  Pompadour  probably  means  the  couriers  attached  to  the 
French  embassies  at  the  various  Italian  courts,  the  letters  carried  by  whom 
were,  of  course,  safe  from  the  eyes  of  inquisitive  officials. 

162 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

"  I  am  enchanted  at  the  gracious  and  kindly  manner 
in  which  the  King  of  Sardinia^  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy ^ 
have  received  you,  and  I  see  that  I  have  not  been  misled  in 
the  report  which  has  reached  me  concerning  these  princes. 

"  I  cannot  imagine  why  you  have  not  received  my 
letter.  I  wrote  you  one  an  age  ago,  and  addressed 
it,  as  M.  Perrier  told  me,  to  the  care  of  the  French 
postmaster  at  Turin. ^  I  should  be  annoyed  if  it  has 
been  lost,  for  it  contained  some  advice  of  importance  to 
you,  which  I  fancy  I  omitted  to  give  you.  It  is  to  be 
extremely  careful  not  to  write  anything  likely  to  be  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Courts  which  you  will  visit,  as  it  is  very 
probable  that  the  people  there  will  be  curious  to  know 
the  impressions  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  brother  and 
the  reports  that  he  sends  to  his  sister  and  others. 

"  The  King  seems  very  pleased  with  the  letters  you 
have  written  me  on  the  subject  of  the  Turin  theatre. 
His  Majesty  is  looking  forward  to  see  the  plans  which 
M.  de  Tournehem  will  send  him  on  your  behalf.  I 
must  confess  that  I  also  am  curious  to  see  them.* 

"  You  have  shown  admirable  prudence  in  establish- 
ing   friendly   relations    with    Comte    Alfieri."      Always 

^  Charles  Emmanuel  III.  (1701-73). 

2  The  King  of  Sardinia's  eldest  son.  He  succeeded  his  father  as 
Victor  Amadeus  III.  in  1773. 

8  This  was  the  letter  of  January  3  ;  it  miscarried,  and  did  not  reach 
M.  de  Vandi^res  until  March  25. 

*  There  was  some  idea  of  building  a  theatre  on  similar  lines  in  France. 

5  Benedict  Innocent  Alfieri  (1700-67),  a  celebrated  architect  and 
uncle  of  the  famous  poet,  who  describes  him  in  his  Memoirs  as  "  a  very 
amiable  man  and  very  enthusiastic  in  the  cause  of  art."  He  designed 
the  superb  opera-house  at  Turin,  the  facade  of  St.  Peter's  at  Geneva,  and 
the  tower  of  St.  Anne  at  Asti.  Unfortunately,  the  finances  of  Piedmont 
in  his  day  were  not  in  a  condition  to  allow  him  to  give  full  scope  to  his 
genius,  and,  consequently,  his  greatest  schemes  remained  unrealised. 

163 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

follow  that  plan ;  you  will  find  it  of  great  assistance. 
A  conversation  with  a  learned  man  is  often  worth 
more  than  seeing  things  for  oneself;  one  has  not  the 
time  to  fathom  a  thousand  matters  which  may  be 
gathered  in  the  course  of  a  single  conversation.  .  .  . 
Let  me  know  exactly  what  your  movements  are  to  be, 
so  that  my  letters  may  no  longer  go  astray. 

"  I  love  and  embrace  you,  mon  cher  bonhomme^  with  all 
my  heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

'■^  April  12,  1750. 

"  You  have  seen  from  my  letters,  dear  brother,  that 
it  was  not  my  fault  if  you  did  not  have  news  from  me. 
The  Infanta  ^  will  not  arrive  at  Turin  until  the  beginning 
of  June,  so  I  have  ordered  three  summer  suits  of  clothes 
for  you,  which  are  very  becoming,  that  is  to  say,  hand- 
some without  being  too  magnificent.  I  will  send  them 
by  M.  de  la  Chetardie,  at  whose  house  you  will  find 
them  on  your  arrival  at  Turin.  So  there  is  no  necessity 
for  you  to  have  any  made. 

"  You  have  done  well  wherever  you  have  been  ;  I 
hope  you  will  continue  to  do  so.  You  will  be  well 
advised  to  pay  your  court  to  M.  de  Modene,  since 
he  has  treated  you  with  such  kindness. 

"  Vanloo's  portrait  is  not  yet  finished,  nor  the  copy 
of  mine  ;  as  soon  as  they  are,  I  shall  lose  no  time  in 
sending  them  to  you.  I  have  not  told  the  King  what 
you  think  of  the  statues  of  the  Infanta,  for  you  remark 

1  Louise  Elizabeth  of  France,  daughter  of  Louis  XV.,  married  in 
1739  ^^  Don  Philip,  Duke  of  Parma  and  Placentia,  son  of  Philip  V.  of 
Spain  and  Elizabeth  Farnese.  She  was  at  this  time  on  a  visit  to  her 
father's  Court. 

164 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

very  sensibly  that  in  this  world  it  is  not  always  necessary 
to  say  what  one  thinks. 

"  I  find  the  sketch  abominable.  I  believe  Cochin  has 
been  making  fun  of  you  all.  At  least,  could  I  be 
expected  to  recognise  the  Abbe  Le  Blanc .? 

"  M.  de  Nivernois  ^  is  very  pleased  with  you,  with  the 
courtesy  which  you  have  shown  him,  the  kindly  disposi- 
tion you  evince,  your  desire  to  please.  Go  on  as  you 
are  doing,  you  cannot  do  better,  and  take  his  advice, 
for  he  is  a  man  of  great  intelligence,  and  will  counsel 
you  well  ^  for  the  sake  of  his  friendship  for  me.  His 
wife  ^  seems  cold  at  first ;  but  she  is  a  sensible  woman, 
and  amiable  when  one  knows  her. 

'*  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  have  derived  great  satisfac- 
tion from  kissing  the  slipper  of  the  Holy  Father,  and 
have  been  granted  any  number  of  indulgences. 

"Dornoy*  marries  to-morrow.  I  made  them  give 
him  the  post  of  collector  of  the  tallies  of  Paris,  which 

1  Louis  Julie  Bourbon  Mancini-Mazarini,  Due  de  Nivernois  (1716- 
98).  He  had  lately  been  appointed  French  Ambassador  to  the 
Vatican. 

2  Madame  de  Pompadour's  high  opinion  of  the  duke  was  shared  by- 
Lord  Chesterfield,  who,  only  a  few  months  before,  had  given  very  similar 
advice  to  his  son,  Philip  Stanhope,  who  was  then  in  Rome  :  "  I  send 
you  here  enclosed  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  the  Duke  of  Nivernois, 
the  French  Ambassador  at  Rome,  who  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the 
prettiest  men  I  ever  knew  in  my  life.  I  do  not  know  a  better  model  for 
you  to  form  yourself  upon  ;  pray  observe  and  frequent  him  as  much  as 
you  can.      He  will  show  you  what  manners  and  graces  are." 

^  The  Duchesse  de  Nivernois  i^nee  Mademoiselle  de  Pontchartrain) 
was  a  sister  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  old  enemy,  Maurepas.  The 
duke,  who  had  married  her  when  he  was  only  fifteen,  was  devoted  to 
her,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  celebrating  her  charms  and  virtues  in  graceful 
verses,  in  which  she  figured  under  the  name  of  D^lie. 

^  A  protege  of  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

165 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

is  a  very  lucrative  one,  on  condition  that  he  marries  the 
daughter  of  the  late  collector.  He  has  fallen  madly  in 
love  with  her :  she  is  young  and  very  pretty.  I  have 
given  the  wedding-present,  which  is  worth  12,000  livres, 
to  please  my  father,  who  is  very  fond  of  her. 

"Good-night,  mon  cher  bonhomme ;  take  great  care  of 
yourself,  and  let  me  have  news  of  you  often.  You 
must  know  how  pleased  I  am  to  receive  it." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  my  dear  brother.  I 
hope  to  inspect  your  clothes  to-morrow  and  to  despatch 
them  at  once  to  Turin,  where  you  will  find  them. 

"  I  am  very  pleased  and  delighted  with  the  reception 
which  the  Holy  Father  has  accorded  you.  The  con- 
sideration with  which  people  treat  me  in  this  country, 
where  every  one  has,  or  may  have,  need  of  my  good 
offices,  does  not  occasion  me  any  surprise ;  but  I  am 
astonished  to  find  that  it  has  extended  so  far  as  Rome. 
In  spite  of  this  agreeable  state  of  affairs,  which  one  must 
enjoy  while  it  lasts,  my  head  is  not  turned ;  and  were  it 
not  for  the  happiness  of  being  loved  by  him  whom  one 
loves,  which  is  everything,  a  private  life  and  one  with 
but  little  splendour  about  it  would  be  much  more  to  my 
taste.  I  hope  that  you  will  think  as  I  do,  and  that  you 
will  not  consider  yourself  of  more  importance  on  account 
of  those  transient  honours,  which  people  pay  to  a  man's 
position  and  not  to  his  person. 

"  But  enough  of  philosophising !  I  must  tell  you, 
therefore,  to  resume  our  conversation  about  the  humani- 
ties both  ancient  and  modern,  that  what  I  have  read  and 
heard  of  Rome  had  prepared   me  for  your  enthusiasm 

166 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

over  it,  and  I  now  believe  that  you  will  often  thank  me 
for  having  persuaded  you  to  undertake  this  journey. 
The  King,  as  you  tell  me  in  your  letter,  possesses  en- 
gravings of  all  the  things  which  you  have  seen ;  but  as 
for  myself,  who  have  none  of  them,  I  should  not  be 
sorry  to  have  the  little  portfolio  which  you  offer  me, 
and  I  hope  M.  Cochin  will  give  me  the  pleasure  of 
working  for  it.  I  shall  entail  it  upon  my  descendants 
as  a  precious  possession,  since  it  will  be  the  work  of  so 
clever  a  man. 

"  Good-night,  dear  little  brother ;  I  embrace  you  with 
all  my  heart,  and  love  you  as  much  as  ever." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

'■''May  28,  1750. 

"  As  I  grow  older,  my  dear  brother,  my  reflections 
become  more  philosophical.  I  am  well  persuaded  that 
in  time  you  will  think  as  I  do.  Setting  aside  the  happi- 
ness of  being  with  the  King,  which  assuredly  consoles 
me  for  everything,  the  rest  is  all  a  tissue  of  wickedness, 
meanness,  in  short,  of  all  the  contemptible  acts  of  which 
poor  human  beings  are  capable.  Matter  enough  for 
reflection,  especially  for  one,  like  myself,  of  a  naturally 
reflective  turn  of  mind. 

"  To  divert  your  thoughts  from  this  moralising,  I 
must  tell  you  that  I  find  the  caricature  of  you  frightful. 
The  King  is  of  the  same  opinion,  and  no  one  would 
have  recognised  it,  not  even  one  of  your  relatives.  I 
should  have  little  desire  to  possess  talent  like  that.^ 

"I  am  very  delighted  that  you  are  pleased  with 
my   portraits ;    people   think   them   very   charming,   but 

^  The  art  of  caricature  was  at  this  period  very  little  understood  in 
France. 

167 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

little  like  me.  However  that  may  be,  I  have  sent 
it  to  you,  as  it  was  the  best  I  have.  There  is  nothing 
more  to  be  done  with  La  Tour ;  his  folly  increases  every 
moment.^ 

"  While  on  the  subject  of  folly,  you  will  have  heard 
of  that  of  the  Parisians.  I  do  not  think  there  has  ever 
been  anything  to  equal  the  absurdity  of  the  idea  that 
one  wished  to  bleed  their  children  to  provide  baths  for  a 
leprous  prince.^ 

"I  have  been  to  visit  M.  de  Tournehem  at  Etioles, 
a  visit  which  gave  me  great  pleasure.  He  was 
charming. 

"I  believe  that  you  are  in  Turin.  Give  my  kind 
regards  to  M.  de  la  Chetardie,  and  love  your  sister  as 
much  as  she  loves  you." 

1   See  p.  264. 

^  Early  in  May  1750  the  Government  gave  instructions  to  the  police 
to  seize  the  little  vagrant  children  of  the  streets,  in  order  to  send  them  as 
colonists  to  the  Mississippi.  The  exempts  took  advantage  of  the  careless 
wording  of  the  order  to  abduct  a  number  of  children  belonging  to  the 
bourgeois  and  respectable  artisans,  so  as  to  oblige  their  parents  to 
ransom  them.  On  May  16  a  riot  broke  out,  when  the  whole  quarter 
of  Saint- Antoine  fell  upon  the  police.  Suddenly  a  rumour  spread  that 
the  King  had  become  leprous,  in  consequence  of  his  debauchery,  that 
baths  of  human  blood  were  necessary  to  cure  him,  and  that  it  was  for  this 
purpose  that  the  children  were  being  taken.  The  fury  of  the  populace  knew 
no  bounds,  and  on  the  22nd  and  23rd  there  were  terrible  riots.  Several 
exempts  were  put  to  death  by  the  people ;  many  of  the  houses  of  the 
police  officials  were  sacked,  and  the  mangled  body  of  one  of  his  spies  was 
deposited  on  the  doorstep  of  Berryer,  the  Lieutenant  of  Police,  who  lost 
no  time  in  leaving  the  city.  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  had  come  to 
Paris  by  chance,  had  a  narrow  escape,  and  was  only  saved  from  being 
torn  to  pieces  by  the  speed  of  the  horses  attached  to  her  carriage.  So 
infuriated  were  the  mob  that  they  even  talked  of  going  to  burn  Versailles. 
— Martin's  Histoire  de  France  jus qu  en  1789,  xv.  435;  Memoires  du 
Marquis  d'' Argmson,  iii.  334  et  seq. 

l6b 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Madame   de  Pompadour  to   her   Brother. 

^^  June  15,  1750. 

"  I  am  very  pleased  that  you  find  your  clothes  to  your 
liking ;  I  thought  that  you  would  approve  of  them,  and 
I  was  at  pains  to  see  that  they  were  elegant  without  being 
too  magnificent. 

"  Your  letter  has  found  me,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  the 
Forest  of  Compiegne,  where  I  find  the  Hermitage  looking 
more  beautiful  than  last  year.  I  would  willingly  spend 
half  my  time  here.  Alexandrine  went  fifteen  days  ago 
to  the  convent ;  she  is  quite  well  and  delighted  to  be 
there. 

"  The  weather  leaves  much  to  be  desired  ;  here  it  rains 
incessantly,  and  we  are  anxious  about  the  wheat,  which 
has  already  risen  in  price.  However,  we  have  had  better 
weather  the  last  three  or  four  days,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
soon  have  no  further  cause  for  anxiety. 

"  Madame  la  Dauphine  is  well  and  approaching  her 
confinement ;  Monsieur  le  Dauphin  arrived  here  to-day 
and  remains  a  week.  One  of  his  valets- de-chambre  has 
been  imprisoned  in  a  fortress,  for  having  had  the  imper- 
tinence to  declare  that  Monsieur  le  Dauphin  had  charged 
him  to  assure  M.  de  Maurepas  of  his  sympathy,  a  state- 
ment false  from  beginning  to  end. 

"  Paris  has  now  quieted  down.  Neither  the  King  nor 
any  member  of  the  Royal  Family  has  passed  through 
it,  in  order  to  punish  the  inhabitants  for  their  folly." 

Madame   de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

'■'■August  23. 

"  I  do  not  know,  my  dear  brother,  if  I  have  thanked 
you  for  the  pieces  of  crystal  which  you  have  sent  me. 

169 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

They  are  very  extraordinary  and  are  seldom  found  in 
this  country.  I  have  had  them  mounted  on  a  bonbon- 
box. 

"I  have  seen  MM.  Bureton  and  de  Quisonas;  I 
received  them  as  persons  charged  with  letters  from 
you.  As  regards  Genoa,  I  hear  that  a  certain  Madame 
Victorina  has  been  very  much  in  your  company,  not- 
withstanding which  you  are  now  occupied  with  another 
lady,  and  that  you  have  said  of  the  latter,  '  We  must 
always  take  what  the  gods  send  us.'  I  felicitate  you 
and  wish  you  every  success  and  no  cause  for  repentance. 

"  We  are  all  in  expectation  of  Madame  la  Dauphine's 
confinement.  I  have  a  letter  ready  to  send  her,  in  the 
event  of  the  child  being  a  boy. 

"  I  embrace,  mon  cher  bonhommey  with  all  my  heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  Choisy,  Sunday y  September  6,  1 7  50. 

"  Everywhere  where  there  are  human  beings,  my  dear 
brother,  you  will  find  deceit  and  every  vice  of  which 
mortals  arc  capable.  To  live  by  oneself,  however,  would 
be  very  monotonous,  so  one  must  endure  them  along 
with  their  faults  and  pretend  not  to  notice  them. 

"  I  am  aware  of  the  article  about  your  marriage ;  ^  it 
has  appeared  in  several  gazettes.  It  is,  however,  a  very 
small  grievance ;  a  real  one  is  that  Madame  la  Dauphine 
has  given  birth  to  a  daughter,  but,  as  this  is  the  eleventh 
day,  and  she  is  in  excellent  health,  she  will  give  us  a 
prince  next  year.  We  must  console  ourselves  with  that 
hope  and  not  think  if  we  can  of  the  little  Madame.  I 
have  seen  her  to-day  for  the  first  time  :  I  could  not  make 

1  Apparently  an  unfounded  report  of  M.  de  Vandi^res  having  married, 
or  being  about  to  marry,  some  Italian  lady. 

170 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

up  my  mind  to  do  so  before.     She  is  very  delicate ;  I 
doubt  if  she  will  live. 

"  Alexandrine  is  well.  I  shall  send  for  her  to  come 
here  to-morrow  and  embrace  her  once  again  on  behalf  of 
him  who,  in  my  turn,  I  embrace  with  all  my  heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother, 

"  FoNTAiNEBLEAU,  October  19,  1750. 

"  The  two  princes  Borghese  were  presented  yesterday, 
my  dear  brother.  I  have  shown  them  a  great  deal  of 
civility ;  thanked  them  for  all  the  princess,  their  mother, 
has  shown  to  you,  and  begged  them  to  convey  to  her  my 
acknowledgments.  I  believe  one  cannot  do  more ;  they 
do  not  understand  a  word  of  French,  which  makes  con- 
versation difficult,  as  you  can  well  understand. 

"  Mesdames  Sophie  and  Louise  arrived  here  yesterday ; 
the  King  preceded  them  with  Monsieur  le  Dauphin.  In 
truth  nothing  is  more  affecting  than  their  meeting.  The 
tenderness  which  the  King  shows  for  his  children  is 
wonderful,  and  they  return  his  affection  with  all  their 
hearts.  Madame  Sophie  is  almost  as  tall  as  I  am,  very 
kind-hearted,  plump,  a  beautiful  neck,  well  made,  a 
lovely  skin  and  eyes,  in  profile  as  like  the  King  as  two 
drops  of  water,  but  in  full  face  not  nearly  so  handsome, 
since  she  has  an  unpleasant  mouth  ;  on  the  whole,  she  is  a 
fine  princess.  Madame  Louise  is  insignificant  in  appear- 
ance, a  bad  figure,  with  features  plain  rather  than  pretty, 
but  with  an  open  countenance,  which  is  much  preferable 
to  beauty.     We  have  all  been  presented  to-day. 

'*  My  father  has  been  unwell ;  he  treats  himself  in 
his  own  fashion,^  and,  in  spite  of  that,  is  better.  He 
is  truly  an  astonishing  person. 

^   By  the  bottle. 
171 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

"  I  do  not  know  where  to  address  my  letters,  pre- 
sumably you  will  let  me  know.  I  embrace  you,  mon 
cher  bonhommCy  with  all  my  heart.'* 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

*^  January  i8,  1 75 1. 

"  I  calculate  you  have  just  this  moment  arrived  in 
Rome,  my  dear  brother.  We  have  just  come  from 
Choisy.  There  never  seems  to  be  any  news  in  Paris 
to  which  one  can  attach  any  credit ;  the  latest  re- 
port was  the  marriage  and  publication  of  the  banns 
of  the  Marquis  de  Langeron,  whom  you  know, 
and  a  waiting-woman  of  Madame  de  Sens.  I  have 
written  to  ascertain  the  truth.  The  poor  devil  never 
dreamed  of  such  a  proceeding,  and  is  dreadfully  upset 
at  this  malicious  gossip.  In  truth  they  are  becoming 
too  deceitful  in  Paris.  I  did  not  believe  them  to  be 
idiots  and  liars,  but  this  is  going  too  far.  You  know, 
of  course,  that  Bellevue  has  fallen  to  the  ground,  that 
all  the  windows  and  chimneys  have  been  demolished, 
and  that  there  has  been  a  fire  there,  after  which  I 
sold  it  to  the  King  for  800,000  livres.  The  news- 
mongers would  be  very  disappointed  did  they  know 
how  utterly  I  despise  them,  and  that  they  do  not 
cause  me  the  least  annoyance. 

"  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  M.  de  Tournehem. 
His  nephew  wishes  to  give  him  a  daughter  to  make 
pariie    carrh    with    him.^     I    believe    that    he    (M.    de 

^  The  nephew  was  Madame  de  Pompadour's  own  husband,  poor 
M.  d'Etloles,  and  the  "daughter,"  who  was  to  make  part'ie  carree  with 
M.  de  Tournehem,  was  a  certain  Mademoiselle  Rem,  an  ex-danseuse  of 
the  Opera,  in  whose  society  M.  d'Etioles  was  endeavouring,  not  without 
success,  to  find  consolation  tor  the  loss  of  his  wife.     After  Madame  de 

172 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

Tournehem)  has  not  long  to  live ;  he  is  very  unwell, 
which  troubles  me.^  I  must  try  to  find  some  remedy 
for  his  complaint. 

"  Good-night,  cher  bonhomme ;  we  have  at  Bellevue 
a  miniature  theatre.  We  shall  perform  there  for  the 
first  time  on  the  26th  of  this  month;  we  shall  only 
play  comedy.  I  love  you  and  embrace  you  with  all 
my  heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  I  have  been  suffering  for  the  last  two  days,  mon 
cher  bonhomme,  from  an  attack  of  fever,  brought  on 
by  extreme  lassitute  {courbature).  I  have  now  got  rid 
of  it,  so  do  not  worry  yourself  about  my  health.  I 
am  not  at  all  satisfied,  however,  with  that  of  M.  de 
Tournehem,  which  causes  me  great  anxiety. 

"  Good-night,  my  dear  brother ;  I  embrace  you  with 
all  my  heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"May  20,  1751. 

"  I  am  very  reluctant,  mon  cher  bonhomme,  to  ask 
the  King  for  what  you  have  spoken  to  me  about,  as 
the  house  in  question  is  intended  to  serve  as  the 
hotel    of   the    Director    of    the    Board    of    Works.      I 

Pompadour's  death  in  1764,  a  report  was  circulated  that  the  widower 
intended  to  espouse  this  lady,  which  gave  rise  to  the  following  epigram : — 

*'  Pour  reparer  miscriam 

Que  Pompadour  laisse  a  la  France, 
.    Lenormant,  plein  de  conscience, 

Vient  d'epouser  Rem  publicam." 

*  Tournehem  died  in  the  following  November. 

173 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  hardly  be 
in  good  taste  to  ask  for  it  as  your  private  residence, 
since  it  is  meant  for  your  office.  I  have,  indeed,  re- 
buked M.  de  Tournehem  for  having  spoken  to  the 
King  on  the  subject.  His  Majesty  has  made  an 
arrangement  whereby  that  house  and  several  others 
are  given  to  M.  de  la  Valliere,  and  the  Hotel  de  la 
Valliere  remains  the  hotel  of  the  Director  of  the 
Board  of  Works. 

"...  I  have  not  yet  seen  all  the  good  things 
you  have  sent  me  from  Bologna  ;  I  will  drink  to  your 
health  while  I  eat  them. 

"  I  have  had  such  a  bad  cold  that  for  twenty-four 
hours  I  was  in  a  fever ;  it  is  now  a  little  better. 
i  am  going  down  to  the  salon  this  evening,  which 
by-the-way,  is  a  diabolical  place  for  colds ;  it  is  so 
terribly  hot  there  and  so  cold  on  going  outside,  that 
one  hears  more  coughing  than  at  Christmas  time. 

"I  intend  going  on  Monday  to  Crecy  until  Whit- 
sun  Eve,  and  shall  return  there  from  the  4th  to  the 
9th.  I  shall  be  in  despair  if  the  weather  is  like  it 
is  to-day ;  it  is  worse  than  February. 

"  I  am  going  to  furnish  a  suite  of  apartments  for 
your  use  at  Bellevue ;  you  will  be  able  to  occupy 
them  the  first  time  you  visit  me,  as  they  will  be 
ready  in  August. 

"  My  father  has  sent  me  a  letter  of  yours,  which 
does  not  surprise  me.  You  have  acted  very  sensibly 
in  the  matter  in  question.  When  you  marry,  if  it 
is  necessary,  you  will  take  the  name  of  your  estate, 
as  so  many  others  do,  but  until  that  time  arrives,  I 
do  not  see  any  necessity  for  you  to  do  so. 

"  M.    de    T.    (Tournehem)    awaits,    it    is    said,    your 

174 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

return  to  resign  in  your  favour.^  I  hope  that  there 
is  no  truth  in  the  report,  but  if  there  is,  I  shall  do 
all  in  my  power  to  prevent  him  doing  so.  Although 
you  have  acquired  some  knowledge  of  your  duties, 
you  are  only  twenty-five  years  of  age ;  it  will  be 
much  better  for  you  to  retain  the  survivorship  until 
you  are  twenty-eight  or  thirty. 

"  Good-night,  dear  brother ;  I  embrace  you  most 
tenderly.  Your  niece,  who  is  staying  here  for  the 
benefit  of  her  health,  embraces  you  with  all  her 
heart." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  Choisy,  June  2i,  175 1. 

"  You  are  perfectly  right,  mon  cher  honhomme^  since 
you  are  in  the  mood  for  it,  to  see  all  the  interesting 
things  there  are  to  be  seen  in  the  course  of  your  journey. 
You  cannot  acquire  too  much  knowledge  in  order  to 
merit  the  generosity  of  the  King. 

"  M.  de  T.  (Tournehem)  is  always  taking  cold  ;  his 
health,  and  still  more  the  terribly  depressed  state  in 
which  he  is,  causes  me  much  anxiety.  Take  care  always 
to  write  to  him  in  the  kindest  possible  manner,  as  he  is 
very  sensitive  in  this  respect ;  it  will  not  cost  you  any 
effort,  for  you  surely  love  him  as  much  as  I  do. 

"  Alexandrine  is  here  ;  I  do  not  know  when  she  will 
return  to  her  convent.  Madame  Dornoy  is  dying  of 
exactly  the  same  complaint  which  your  poor  mother 
died  of;  it  will  be  a  terrible  loss  for  my  daughter.^ 

"  We  are  going  to  Compiegne  for  six  weeks  next 
Friday.     We  leave  Madame  la  Dauphine  very  well  and 

^  The  Directorship  of  the  Board  of  Works. 

2  Madame  Dornoy  was  Alexandrine's  gowvernante. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

very  near  her  confinement  {un  enfant  trh-remuani).  God 
grant  that  the  child  may  arrive  safely,  and  be  a  boy  !  I 
assure  you,  and  you  will  understand  my  feelings,  that 
I  am  weary  of  seeing  nothing  but  girls. 

"  Good-night ;  I  love  and  embrace  you  with  all  my 
heart. 

*'  I  embrace  my  dear  little  uncle  with  all  my  heart. 

Alexandrine." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  Choisy,  August  6,  1 75 1. 

"  You  will  possibly  receive  intelligence  of  an  alarm- 
ing fall  which  the  King  had  yesterday.  Happily,  it  is 
nothing  at  all  serious  ;  he  has  rubbed  some  skin  off  his 
arm  and  his  head,  and  bruised  his  thigh  with  his  gun, 
but  he  has  had  neither  pain  nor  giddiness.  In  short,  it 
is  so  trivial  a  matter  that  the  Faculty  did  not  consider 
it  necessary  to  bleed  him.  You  will  understand  that 
my  head  is  not  fit  to  write  much  after  the  shock  I 
have  received.     Good-night,  bonhommey 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  The  King  progresses  favourably  and  feels  no  bad 
effects  from  his  fall.  Madame  la  Dauphine's  confine- 
ment is  close  at  hand,  but  she  is  wonderfully  well. 

"  M.  de  T.  (Tournehem)  is  so  ill ;  I  am  terribly 
anxious  about  him.  He  has  been  bled  twice.  He  is 
better  to-day,  however ;  the  fever  and  cough  are  much 
less  troublesome. 

"  Good-day,  dear   brother ;    I   embrace   you   with   all 

my  heart." 

176 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 


Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  Brother. 

"  Choisy,  August  7,  1 75 1. 

"  It  is  only  two  days  since  I  wrote  to  you,  mon 
honhomme,  but  I  was  so  afraid  that  the  alarming  reports 
which  were  current  in  Paris  would  reach  you  without 
contradiction,  that  I  wrote  to  inform  you  of  the  King's 
condition  without  delay.  He  is  going  on  wonderfully 
well,  and  yesterday  followed  the  chase  on  horseback  for 
five  hours,  notwithstanding  his  bruises.  The  Parisians 
seemed  to  have  gone  mad  over  his  accident,  and  I  can 
well  understand  their  doing  so,  for  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  in  the  whole  universe  a  ruler  such  as  he. 

"  We  leave  here  the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  shall 
see  Bellevue  on  Wednesday.  I  am  as  delighted  as  a 
child  at  the  prospect  of  beholding  it  again.  I  shall 
also  see  Alexandrine,  who  has  been  there  for  the  last 
two  months. 

"  You  do  not  propose,  then,  to  go  to  Languedoc ; 
there  is  nothing,  I  think,  of  any  great  importance  there 
for  you  to  see,  and,  besides,  I  shall  be  delighted  to  see 
you  again  sooner  than  I  had  anticipated.  Since  you  do 
not  intend  to  make  that  journey,  the  sooner  the  better. 

"  Good-day,  dear  brother ;  I  love  and  embrace  you 
with  all  my  heart." 

The  marquis  returned  to  Paris  at  the  end  of  September 
175 1,  and  on  the  death  of  Lenormant  de  Tournehem, 
which  occurred  two  months  later,  succeeded  him  as 
Director  of  the  Board  of  Works.  He  was  not  long 
in  giving  proof  that  the  time  spent  in  Italy  had  not 
been  wasted,  and  his  tenure  of  the  office  was  signalised 

177  M 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

by  measures  which  have  endeared  his  memory  to  all 
lovers  of  French  art.  In  spite  of  the  financial  em- 
barrassments occasioned  by  the  prodigalities  of  Louis 
XV.,  and  later  by  the  necessities  of  the  disastrous  Seven 
Years'  War,  the  arts  were  never  allowed  to  languish. 
He  raised  the  price  for  pictures  commissioned  by  the 
Crown ;  ^  gave  extensive  orders  for  the  manufacture  of 
Gobelins  tapestry  lo  encourage  historical  painting,  which 
had  begun  to  go  out  of  fashion  ;  caused  many  works  of 
art  to  be  restored,  and  put  the  French  Academy  at 
Rome  on  a  sound  financial  basis.  Nevertheless,  in 
spite  of  his  amiable  character  and  his  efficient  and  con- 
scientious discharge  of  his  duties,  the  poor  marquis 
never  seems  to  have  really  succeeded  in  living  down 
the  early  unpopularity  which  his  relationship  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour  had  aroused.  "  He  is  a  man  but  little 
understood,"  said  Quesnay  on  one  occasion.  "  No 
one  talks  of  his  talents  or  acquirements,  nor  what  he 
has  done  for  the  advancement  of  the  arts ;  no  man 
since  Colbert  has  done  so  much  in  his  position ;  he  is, 
moreover,  an  extremely  honourable  man;  but  people 
refuse  to  see  in  him  anything  but  the  brother  of  the 
favourite,  and,  because  he  is  stout,  he  is  thought  dull 
and  stupid."  ^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  was  far  from  being  content 

^  Tournehem  during  his  tenure  of  the  post  had  established  a  tariff  for 
portraits  of  royalties,  according  to  which  all  Academicians  were  to  be 
paid  alike,  at  the  same  time  starting  a  scheme  for  direct  commissions 
from  the  Crown.  "  The  modesty  of  the  sum  to  be  paid  for  the  pictures 
— 1500  francs — was  atoned  for  by  the  magnificence  of  the  blue  morocco 
portfolio  in  which  the  order  for  the  money  was  enclosed — a  delicate 
attention  greatly  appreciated  by  all  concerned." — Lady  Dilke's  "  French 
Painters  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  p.  6. 

2  Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.  1825),  p.  90. 

178 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

with  the  position  and  honours  she  had  already  procured 
for  her  brother.  In  1754  she  persuaded  the  King  to 
make  the  estate  of  Marigny  into  a  marquisate,  and,  two 
years  later,  to  appoint  him  to  the  post  of  Secretary  to 
the  Order  of  Saint-Esprit,  in  virtue  of  which  office  he 
was  entitled  to  wear  the  coveted  cordon  bleu.  But  young 
Poisson,  unlike  his  sister,  had  no  ambition  beyond  the 
advancement  of  art,  and  it  was  only  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  the  latter  could  persuade  him  to  accept 
these  honours.  Modest  and  retiring  to  a  fault,  he  was, 
moreover,  keenly  alive  to  the  position  occupied  by  the 
marchioness,  and  shrank  from  any  appearance  of  desiring 
to  profit  by  it.  When  Marmontel  went  to  congratulate 
him  on  the  rank  which  he  had  obtained  in  the  Order  of 
Saint-Esprit,  he  replied,  *'  Monsieur  Marmontel,  the  King 
wipes  off  the  meanness  of  my  birth."  ^  "  On  another 
occasion,"  says  the  author  of  the  Contes  morauXy  "  on  his 
return  from  the  play,  he  told  me  that  he  had  found 
himself  in  an  awkward  predicament.  As  he  sat  in  the 
balcony,  thinking  only  of  deriving  amusement  from  the 
little  piece  that  was  being  performed,  he  suddenly  heard 
one  of  the  players,  in  the  character  of  a  drunken  soldier, 
exclaim,  *  What !  shall  I  have  a  pretty  sister  and  make 
nothing  out  of  her,  when  so  many  others  raise  a  fortune 
by  their  third  cousins  .? '  *  Only  imagine,'  said  he,  '  my 
embarrassment  and  confusion.  The  pit  fortunately  did 
not  notice  me.'  "  ^ 

It  was  in  vain  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  en- 
deavoured to  prevail  upon  him  to  accept  the  survivor- 
ship of  the  office  of  Commandeur  des  Ordres  to  the 
King.     The   young  man   was   firm  in  his  refusal.      "I 

^    Meinoires  de  Marmonte/  (edit.   1804),  "•  5' 

179 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

spare  you,"  said  he,  "many  annoyances  by  depriving  you 
of  a  slight  satisfaction.  The  public  would  be  unjust  to 
me,  however  well  I  might  fulfil  the  duties  of  my  post. 
As  to  M.  de  Saint-Florentin's  place,  he  may  live  five- 
and-twenty  years,  so  that  I  should  gain  very  little  by 
it.  King's  mistresses  are  hated  enough  on  their  own 
account,  without  drawing  upon  themselves  the  hatred 
which  is  directed  against  Ministers."  ^  An  attempt 
which  Madame  de  Pompadour  made  in  1757  after  the 
dismissal  of  Machault  to  induce  him  to  follow  that 
Minister  at  the  Marine  was  equally  unsuccessful. 

But  the  question  on  which  Marigny — as  we  must 
now  call  him — and  his  sister  were  most  frequently 
at  variance,  and  which  threatened  more  than  once  to 
end  in  an  open  rupture  between  them,  was  that  of  the 
former's  marriage.  Madame  de  Pompadour  dreamed 
of  a  grand  alliance  for  her  brother,  the  eclat  of  which 
should  reflect  upon  herself,  and,  in  turn,  suggested 
a  daughter  of  the  Due  de  la  Valliere,  a  daughter  of 
Marechal  Lowendal,  and  a  daughter  of  the  Prince  de 
Chimay.  She  tried  to  tempt  him  by  the  promise  that, 
on  the  day  that  he  married  with  her  approval,  she 
would  make  over  to  him,  by  way  of  a  wedding  present, 
the  magnificent  Hotel  d'Evreux,  which  she  had  pur- 
chased in  1753,  and  by  engaging  to  persuade  the  King 
to  create  him  a  duke,  with  remainder  to  his  children ; 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  To  her  entreaties  and  re- 
monstrances Marigny  would  calmly  reply  that  he 
valued  his  freedom  above  all  things,  and  would  never 
consent  to  surrender  it,  except  for  the  sake  of  a  woman 
whom  he  could  really  love. 

Sometimes,  however,  Madame  de  Pompadour  would 

1   Mcmoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit-   1825),  p.  189. 
180 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

become  so  importunate  that,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and 
quiet,  he  would  promise  to  give  the  question  further 
consideration,  and  now  and  again  to  give  a  sort  of  half 
consent,  which,  however,  he  never  failed  to  retract 
before  matters  were  finally  arranged.  One  day,  Madame 
du  Hausset  tells  us,  a  letter  was  brought  to  the 
marchioness,  which  she  opened  with  an  air  of  im- 
patience, and,  after  reading  it,  angrily  exclaimed : 
''This  is  from  my  brother.  It  is  what  he  would 
not  have  dared  to  say  to  my  face,  so  he  writes.  I 
had  arranged  a  marriage  for  him  with  the  daughter  of 
a  man  of  title ;  he  appeared  to  be  well  inclined  to  it, 
and  I,  therefore,  pledged  my  word.  He  now  writes 
to  me  to  the  effect  that  he  has  made  inquiries ;  that 
the  parents  are  people  of  insufferable  hauteur ;  that 
the  daughter  has  been  very  badly  brought  up ;  that  he 
has  learned,  on  unquestionable  authority,  that  when  she 
heard  of  the  marriage  that  was  proposed  for  her,  she 
spoke  of  the  connection  with  the  most  supreme  con- 
tempt ;  that  he  is  quite  certain  on  this  point,  and 
that  I  was  more  contemptuously  spoken  off  than  him- 
self. In  a  word,  he  begs  me  to  break  off  this 
marriage ;  but  he  has  allowed  me  to  go  too  far,  and  now 
he  will  make  these  people  my  implacable  enemies.  This 
has  been  put  into  his  head  by  some  of  his  flatterers ; 
they  do  not  wish  him  to  change  his  mode  of  life,  as 
very  few  of  them  would  be  received  by  his  wife."  ^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  made  amends  to  the  young 
lady  in  question  for  being  thus  compelled  to  break  off 
the  match  by  arranging  another  marriage  for  her.  A 
few  months  later  Marigny's  rejected  bride  was  involved 
in  a  very  unpleasant   scandal,   and  the  marchioness  was 

^   Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.   1825),  p.  46. 
181 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

fain  to  confess  that,  in  this  instance  at  least,  her  brother 
had  been  in  the  right. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  death  of  his  sister  that 
Marigny  met  his  fate  in  the  person  of  a  Mademoiselle 
Filleul,  a  very  beautiful  young  lady,  whose  mother  had 
been  the  chere  amie  of  the  financier  Bouret,  and  who 
was  suspected  of  being  a  natural  daughter  of  Louis  XV. 
The  girl  seems  to  have  reciprocated  the  marquis's  at- 
tachment, and  the  marriage  under  ordinary  circumstances 
should  have  proved  a  very  happy  one.  Unfortunately,  the 
very  reverse  was  the  case.  Marigny  had  always  been  of 
an  extremely  morbid  and  sensitive  disposition,  ever  prone 
to  look  upon  the  dark,  side  of  any  matter,  and  quick  to 
take  offence  where  none  was  intended.  As  a  husband, 
moreover,  he  showed  himself  insanely  jealous,  even  re- 
senting his  wife's  affection  for  her  mother  and  sister, 
while  the  attentions  which  she  received  wherever  she 
went  goaded  him  to  fury.  Marmontel  relates  that  one 
evening  at  the  Ridotto  at  Spa,  whither  he  and  Madame 
de  Marigny's  sister,  the  Comtesse  de  Seran,  had  accom- 
panied the  young  couple,  Marigny,  apparently  annoyed 
by  the  admiration  which  the  marchioness's  beauty 
was  arousing,  and  the  pleasure  she  was  taking  in  the 
society  of  her  sister,  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  several 
months,  after  sitting  for  some  time  in  gloomy  silence, 
suddenly  broke  out  into  a  torrent  of  reproaches,  de- 
claring that  he  was  convinced  that  his  presence  was 
irksome  to  his  wife,  and  that  she  hated  and  loathed  him. 
Then,  jumping  up,  he  rushed  out  of  the  Ridotto,  and 
returned  to  their  inn,  where  he  locked  himself  in  his 
room.  By  her  sister's  advice,  poor  Madame  de  Marigny 
went  to  endeavour  to  pacify  him,  in  a  state  of  agitation 
"  which  would  have  melted  the  heart  of  a  tiger "  ;  but 

182 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

the  marquis  refused  to  admit  her,  and  at  daybreak  next 
morning  set  off  by  himself  for  Holland,  crying  out  to 
Marmontel  as  he  drove  away,  "  Adieu,  my  friend,  pity 
the  most  unhappy  of  men  !  "  ^ 

Through  the  intervention  of  their  friends,  husband  and 
wife  were  afterwards  reconciled  ;  but  other  quarrels  soon 
followed,  and,  eventually,  Madame  de  Marigny  trans- 
ferred her  affections  to  the  Cardinal  de  Rohan,  the  hero 
of  the  Diamond  Necklace  episode,  whom  she  is  said  to 
have  followed  about  in  the  dress  of  an  abbe.  Poor 
Marigny,  overwhelmed  with  grief,  shame,  and  remorse, 
fell  seriously  ill,  and,  after  much  suffering,  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four.     He  deserved  a  better  fate. 

If  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  anxious  for  her  brother's 
advancement  in  life,  her  projects  on  behalf  of  her  little 
daughter,  Alexandrine  d'Etioles,were  even  more  ambitious. 
The  child  was  brought  up  in  the  Couvent  de  I'Assomption, 
where  a  luxurious  suite  of  apartments  was  fitted  up  for 
her  reception,  and  a  lady  of  quality  engaged  as  her 
gouvernante.  Here  she  was  treated  with  greater  con- 
sideration than  even  the  daughters  of  the  noblest  families 
in  France,  and  was  called  by  her  baptismal  name,  with 
the  prefix  Madame,  a  form  of  address  hitherto  reserved 
for  the  princesses  of  the  blood.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, it  was  hardly  surprising  that  the  little  girl  early 
gave  promise  of  becoming  as  arrogant  and  haughty  as 
her  mother,  and  one  day,  we  are  told,  the  peace  of  the 
convent  was  very  much  disturbed,  on  account  of  a  violent 
dispute  on  a  question  of  precedence  between  "  Madame  " 
Alexandrine  and  little  Mademoiselle  de  Soubise,  after- 
wards Princesse  de  Conde. 

1   Memuires  de  Marmontel  (edit.   1804),  iii.  83  et  seq, 
183 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Before  this  precious  child  had  completed  her  eighth  year, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  had  already  begun  to  look  about 
for  a  suitable  alliance  for  her — an  alliance  which  should  not 
only  confer  upon  her  daughter  the  eegis  of  a  great  name, 
but  should  help  to  consolidate  her  own  position  at  Court. 

We  have  mentioned  that  Louis  XV.  had  a  natural  son 
by  the  ill-fated  Madame  de  Vintimille — the  Comte  du 
Luc — who  bore  so  extraordinary  a  resemblance  to  the 
monarch  that  he  was  called  the  demi-Louis.  Although 
there  never  was  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  paternity 
of  the  boy,  he  had  been  born  in  wedlock,  and  was,  there- 
fore, heir  to  the  title  and  estates  of  Vintimille ;  and  the 
marchioness  determined  to  arrange  a  marriage  between 
the  little  count  and  Alexandrine,  in  order,  as  she  con- 
fided to  Madame  du  Hausset,  that  "  her  grandchildren 
might  blend  the  resemblance  of  their  grandfather  and 
grandmother."  ^  In  furtherance  of  this  scheme,  she  bribed 
the  boy's  tutor  to  bring  him  to  Bellevue,  where  she  and 
Alexandrine  met  them,  as  if  by  accident,  and  led  the 
way  to  a  part  of  the  grounds  to  which  she  knew  that 
the  King,  who  was  on  a  visit  to  the  chateau,  would 
presently  come.  When  he  appeared,  she  pointed  to  the 
children,  who  were  playing  together,  and  remarked  what 
a  beautiful  couple  they  would  make.  Louis  inquired 
the  name  of  the  boy,  and,  on  being  told  who  he  was, 
appeared  much  embarrassed,  and  though  he  caressed 
Alexandrine,  studiously  avoided  taking  any  notice  of 
her  companion.  Nor  did  he  seem  at  all  struck  with 
Madame  de  Pompadour's  matrimonial  suggestion,  and 
the  marchioness  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  her  little 
castle  in  Spain  crumble  away.^ 

1  Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.  1825),  p.  87  et  seq. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  88. 

184 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  favourite  next  cast  her  eyes  upon  the  young 
Due  de  Fronsac,  the  son  and  heir  of  her  former  enemy, 
Richelieu,  by  which  alliance  she  hoped  to  attach  the 
marshal  entirely  to  her  fortunes.  In  this  project, 
however,  she  was  again  doomed  to  disappointment. 
Richelieu,  greedy,  dissolute,  and  unscrupulous  as  he  was, 
was  not  without  redeeming  points  in  his  character,  and 
one  of  these  was  his  jealousy  for  the  honour  of  his 
family.  He  exercised  the  most  vigilant  care  over  the 
ladies  of  his  house,  and  no  breath  of  scandal  had  ever 
been  permitted  to  taint  the  fair  fame  of  one  of  them. 
He  was,  therefore,  by  no  means  anxious  that  the  blood 
of  Poisson,  the  absconding  clerk,  should  be  mingled 
with  that  of  the  great  cardinal ;  but,  unwilling  to  offend 
the  marchioness,  whom  he  was  now  as  anxious  to  con- 
ciliate as  he  had  formerly  been  to  annoy,  he  returned  an 
evasive  answer,  to  the  effect  that,  while  fully  appreciating 
the  honour  Madame  de  Pompadour  proposed  to  confer 
upon  his  family  and  himself,  he  felt  that  he  must  first 
consult  the  wishes  of  the  princes  of  the  House  of  Lor- 
raine, to  whom  his  son  was  related  on  his  mother's  side.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  was  sensible  of  the  finesse  of 
this  reply,  and  turned  to  another  quarter  of  the  Court 
in  search  of  a  son-in-law.  Negotiations  were,  accord- 
ingly, opened  with  the  family  of  Chaulnes,  which  was 
poor,  and,  therefore,  more  inclined  to  complaisance ;  and 
it  was  arranged  that,  on  attaining  her  thirteenth  year, 
Alexandrine  should  espouse  the  Due  de  Picquigny,  the 
heir  to  the  dukedom  of  Chaulnes,  in  return  for  which 
the  Due  de  Chaulnes  was  to  receive  the  post  of  governor 
to  the  infant  son  of  the  Dauphin,  and  the  duchess  that 
of  gouvernante  to  that  prince's  eldest  daughter. 

1    Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV.^  iii.  9. 
185 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

However  these  plans  were  destined  never  to  be  realised. 
In  June  1754  the  child  upon  whom  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour's hopes  were  centred  was  suddenly  taken  ill.  An 
express  was  at  once  sent  off  to  Choisy,  where  the  Court 
then  was,  and  Louis,  on  hearing  the  news,  despatched 
two  of  the  royal  physicians  to  the  convent ;  but  they 
arrived  too  late.  All  kinds  of  ridiculous  reports  were 
spread  as  to  the  cause  of  the  little  girl's  death,  one 
of  which  was  that  she  had  been  poisoned  by  the 
Jesuits ;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  due 
to  natural  causes. 

The  marchioness,  who  seems  to  have  been  passionately 
fond  of  the  child,  was  overwhelmed  with  grief,  and 
became  so  ill  that  "  she  had  to  be  bled  in  the  foot." 
The  King  did  all  in  his  power  to  console  her ;  while  the 
Queen,  who  had  herself  suffered  a  similar  bereavement, 
sent  a  page  to  assure  the  favourite  of  her  sympathy. 

The  mortal  remains  of  poor  Alexandrine  were  not 
allowed  to  remain  long  in  the  choir  of  the  Couvent  de 
I'Assomption,  where  they  had  been  temporarily  deposited. 
In  the  following  October  they  were  removed,  with  great 
ceremony,  to  the  Church  of  the  Capuchins  in  the  Place 
Vendome,  and  interred  by  the  side  of  Madame  Poisson 
in  a  vault  which  the  marchioness  had  purchased  some 
years  before  from  the  family  of  Cr^qui,  and  where,  as 
if  determined  to  carry  her  pomp  and  magnificence  be- 
yond the  grave,  she  had  prepared  for  herself  a  splendid 
mausoleum. 


186 


CHAPTER    X 

Insecurity  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  position — Attempts  to 
supplant  her — Growing  enmity  between  the  favourite  and  the 
Comte  d'Argenson,  Minister  for  War  —  Reasons  for  this — 
They  dissemble  their  hostility — Madame  de  Pompadour  secures 
the  support  of  Machault,  the  Comptroller-General — D'Argen- 
son out  of  favour  with  the  King — Madame  d'Estrades — Her 
treachery  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  —  She  conspires  with 
d'Aroenson  to  overthrow  the  favourite — Madame  de  Choiseul- 
Romanet — Madame  de  Pompadour's  kindness  to  her — Madame 
d'Estrades  persuades  her  to  enter  the  lists  against  the  mar- 
chioness— "I  am  beloved;  she  is  to  be  sent  away!  " — The 
Comte  de  Stainville  betrays  the  conspiracy  to  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour— Fate  of  Madame  de  Choiseul-Romanet — D'Argenson 
renews  his  intrigues — The  favourite's  position  again  seriously 
threatened — Mysterious  disappearance  of  a  letter  written  by  the 
King  to  Madame  de  Pompadour — The  marchioness's  diplo- 
macy— Disgrace  of  Madame  d'Estrades — Bernis  attempts  to 
reconcile  the  favourite  and  d'Argenson — But  fails. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour's influence  seemed  to  be  continually  on  the 
increase,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  to  all  appearance 
her  empire  seemed  unassailable,  her  dominion  assured, 
the  marchioness  never  allowed  herself  for  a  single  instant 
to  be  lulled  into  a  sense  of  false  security.  None  knew 
better  than  herself  on  how  precarious  a  tenure  her 
power  rested.  She  made  and  unmade  Ministers,  she 
appointed    Ambassadors,    she    conferred    pensions    and 

187 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

places,  she  was  flattered,  she  was  feared,  she  was  ad- 
mired. But  how  long  would  it  all  last  ?  That  was 
the  question  she  was  asking  herself  all  day  and  every 
day,  when  she  rose  in  the  morning  and  when  she  retired 
to  rest  at  night,  when  the  Theatre  des  Petits  Apparte- 
ments  rang  with  applause,  and  when  the  haughtiest 
nobles  in  France  came  to  solicit  her  patronage.  How 
long  would  it  all  last .? 

And  what  was  the  answer  ^  So  long,  and  so  long  only, 
as  she  was  able  to  please  the  King,  to  divert  him  by 
a  constant  succession  of  new  pleasures,  new  recreations, 
to  charm  away  his  ennui^  to  relieve  him  of  care,  to  sup 
with  him,  to  travel  with  him,  to  be  at  his  beck  and 
call — in  a  word,  to  consecrate  her  health,  her  tastes, 
her  very  will,  to  amuse  a  being  who  was  as  difficult  to 
amuse  as  le  Grand  Monarque,  and  a  great  deal  less  worthy 
of  the  sacrifice ;  and  all  the  while  to  remain  fresh,  and 
beautiful,  and  light-hearted,  as  if  she  had  not  a  care 
in  the  world  beyond  the  shape  of  a  coiffure  or  the  fit 
of  a  gown. 

Nor  was  this  all  that  was  required  of  her.  "  My  life," 
she  said  one  day  to  her  faithful  waiting-woman,  Madame 
du  Hausset,  "  is  like  that  of  a  Christian,  a  perpetual 
conflict."  She  was  surrounded  by  snares  and  pitfalls, 
by  open  enemies  and  false  friends,  she  was  hated  by 
many,  she  was  envied  by  all.  It  was  necessary  for  her 
to  exercise  unsleeping  vigilance  if  she  hoped  to  check- 
mate the  machinations  of  those  who  were  for  ever  on 
the  watch  to  compass  her  downfall ;  to  be  ready  to  meet 
plot  with  counter-plot,  mine  with  counter-mine ;  to  see 
in  every  whispered  conversation  between  two  courtiers 
the  beginning  of  an  intrigue  against  herself,  in  every 
fresh    face  that  for  a  moment  attracted  the  monarch's 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

admiration  a  potential  rival.  Never  had  woman  so 
difficult  a  task  ;  never  did  woman  bring  to  its  accom- 
plishment such  masterly  tact,  such  unwearied  activity, 
such  unflinching  courage. 

As  early  as  1747,  when  a  suspicion  seems  to  have 
arisen  that  the  ardour  of  Louis's  afi^ection  was  beginning 
to  wane,  an  attempt  was  made  to  supplant  Madame  de 
Pompadour  by  the  friends  of  the  beautiful  Comtesse  de 
Perigord.  In  justice  to  this  lady,  who  was  as  virtuous 
as  she  was  beautiful — a  combination  sufficiently  rare  in 
that  scandalous  age  to  call  for  some  remark — it  should 
be  mentioned  that  she  no  sooner  became  aware  of  the 
odious  designs  of  her  relatives  than  she  left  the  Court 
and  retired  to  the  country,  where  she  remained  for  some 
years ;  ^  and  subsequent  attempts  on  the  part  of  the 
Princesse  de  Rohan  and  the  Comtesse  de  la  Marck,  whose 
cause  was  championed   by  her  brother  the  Due  d'Ayen, 

1  "  The  Comtesse  de  Pdrigord  was  as  Tirtuous  as  she  was  beautiful. 
She  became  aware,  on  the  occasion  of  several  short  visits  to  Choisy,  that 
Louis  XV.  paid  her  an  unusual  amount  of  attention.  Although  she 
treated  the  King  with  as  much  coldness  as  was  consistent  with  respect,  and 
avoided  him  as  far  as  possible,  these  precautions  only  served  to  inflame  his 
ardour,  and,  eventually,  he  made  her  a  most  impassioned  declaration.  This 
estimable  woman  did  not  hesitate  as  to  what  course  she  should  pursue. 
As,  on  the  one  hand,  her  honour  made  it  impossible  for  her  to  reciprocate 
the  King's  passion,  and,  on  the  other,  her  profound  reverence  for  her 
sovereign  enjoined  her  not  to  trouble  his  peace  of  mind,  she  voluntarily 
exiled  herself  and  retired  to  a  country-seat  called  Chalais,  near  Barbe- 
zieux,  where  she  had  not  resided  for  many  years,  and  where,  in  conse- 
quence, the  housekeeper's  apartments  were  the  only  ones  fit  to  receive 
her.  From  this  place  she  wrote  to  the  King  informing  him  of  the  reason 
for  her  departure,  and  here  she  remained  some  years  before  returning  to 
Paris,  where  fresh  distractions  had  soon  brought  to  Louis  the  peace  of 
mind  for  which  Madame  de  Perigord  had  deemed  it  her  duty  to  make  so 
great  a  sacrifice.      Some  years  later  the  dame  d'honneur  to  Mesdames  died. 

189 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

were  easily  baffled  by  the  vigilance  and  address  of  the 
favourite.^ 

Scarcely,  however,  had  the  pretensions  of  these  ladies 
been  satisfactorily  disposed  of  than  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour was  called  upon  to  face  another,  and  far  more 
formidable,  intrigue,  and  one  which  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  crowned  with  success  had  it  not  been  for  one 
of  these  totally  unforeseen  occurrences,  which  so  fre- 
quently upset  even  the  most  deeply  laid  calculations. 
This  conspiracy  had  its  origin  in  the  growing  enmity 
between  the  favourite  and  the  Minister  for  War,  the 
Comte  d'Argenson. 

Marc  Pierre  Voyer  de  Paulmy,  Comte  d'Argenson, 
was  born  in  1696,  the  younger  son  of  the  Marquis 
d'Argenson  who  created  the  secret  police  and  originated 
the  lettres  de  cachet.  After  serving  as  Intendant  of  Tou- 
raine  and  of  Paris,  he  became  in  1743  Minister  for  War, 
at  a  time  when  the  fortunes  of  France  had  sunk  to  a 
very  low  ebb  indeed.  The  French  armies,  demoralised 
by  defeat  and  decimated  by  disease,  were  in  full  retreat 

Many  great  families  applied  for  the  post.  To  none,  however,  did  the 
King  vouchsafe  any  reply,  but  wrote  to  the  Comtesse  de  Perigord  :  '  My 
daughters  have  just  lost  their  lady  of  honour.  That  post,  Madame,  I 
intend  for  you,  as  much  on  account  of  your  exalted  virtues  as  on  that  of 
your  family.'" — Memo'tres  de  Madame  Campan,"^.  387. 

^  Madame   du  Hausset  mentions    another    lady,  whom  she  calls  the 

Comtesse  de  C ,  who  would  appear  to  have  made  considerable  progress 

in  his  Majesty's  good  graces,  since  she  had  actually  formulated  her  terms 
of  surrender.  They  included  "  fifty  thousand  crowns  in  money,  a  regi- 
ment for  one  of  her  relations,  a  bishopric  for  another,  and  the  dismissal  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour  within  fifteen  days."  The  letter  containing  these 
modest  requests  fell  into  the  hands  of  one  of  the  King's  valets-de-chamhre, 
who  informed  the  marchioness  of  its  contents  ;  but  the  latter  only  laughed 
and  said,  referring  to  her  rival,  "  She  drives  too  quickly,  and  will  cer- 
tainly be  overturned  on  the  road." 

190 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

on  the  Rhine,  and  the  Croats  and  Pandours  were  already 
plundering  and  burning  in  Alsace.  Undaunted  by  diffi- 
culties which  might  well  have  discouraged  a  less  resolute 
man,  d'Argenson  immediately  set  to  work  to  restore  the 
shattered  prestige  of  his  country,  and,  by  his  vigour  and 
skilful  choice  of  generals,  turned  the  fortunes  of  war  in  a 
single  year,  and  won  for  France  an  honourable,  if  not 
very  profitable,  peace.  The  war  over,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  strengthening  the  military  resources  of  the 
nation,  introducing  several  much-needed  reforms  into 
the  army,  rebuilding  and  fortifying  the  border  fortresses, 
and  generally  endeavouring  to  put  things  in  readiness  for 
any  renewal  of  hostilities.  A  friend  and  fellow-student 
of  Voltaire,  whom  he  supplied  with  so  many  valuable 
materials  for  his  Sikle  de  Louis  XV. ^  that  the  author  was 
wont  to  declare  that  it  had  been  written  in  the  War 
Office,  he  gained  an  honourable  name  by  his  judicious 
patronage  of  literature,  and  it  was  to  him  that  Diderot 
and  d'Alembert  dedicated  their  famous  Encyclopedie. 

D'Argenson  had  been  a  great  favourite  with  the  King  ; 
indeed,  Louis  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  him  as  "  his 
own  Minister " — one  wholly  devoted  to  his  interests, 
who  could  be  trusted  to  take  the  burden  of  responsibility 
off  his  sovereign's  shoulders  and  spare  him  those  endless 
petty  details  of  administration  which  he  so  detested. 
D'Argenson,  on  his  part,  a  born  courtier,  took  every 
care  to  render  himself  indispensable  to  the  monarch, 
never  leaving  his  side,  save  when  the  gout,  from  which 
he  was  a  constant  sufferer,  held  him  in  thrall,  and  even 
then  always  making  a  point  of  keeping  himself  in  con- 
stant communication  with  his  royal  master.  He  had 
every  hope  of  one  day  becoming  Prime  Minister,  and 
of  establishing   over    the   feeble   and   indolent  Louis   as 

191 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

strong  a  hold  as  Fleury  had  formerly  possessed  when 
his  plans  received  an  abrupt  check  through  the  rise  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour. 

That  the  War  Minister  should  regard  the  advent  of 
so  formidable  a  rival  in  the  King's  favour  v^ith  equa- 
nimity was  hardly  to  be  expected ;  and  as  time  went  on, 
and  Madame  de  Pompadour  began  to  interfere  more 
and  more  in  affairs  of  State,  and,  in  turn,  to  contrive  the 
fall  of  Orry,  of  the  count's  own  brother  the  Marquis 
d'Argenson,  and  of  his  friend  Maurepas,  his  animosity 
increased,  and,  eventually,  he  began  to  cast  about  him  for 
some  means  of  avenging  his  former  colleagues  and,  at 
the  same  time,  ridding  himself  of  what  he  conceived  to 
be  the  principal  bar  to  his  own  advancement. 

On  the  lady's  side,  causes  of  complaint  were  not  want- 
ing. Whereas,  since  the  dismissal  of  Maurepas,  she  had 
found  in  the  other  Ministers  pliant  enough  instruments 
of  her  will,  d'Argenson  had  stubbornly  refused  to  sur- 
render his  independence.  At  the  time  of  Orry's  disgrace 
it  was  in  a  large  measure  through  his  influence  that  her 
efforts  to  replace  the  dismissed  Comptroller-General  by 
a  creature  of  her  own  and  the  brothers  Paris  had  been 
frustrated.  Again,  when  she  had  condescended  to  solicit 
the  lucrative  appointment  of  Intendant  of  the  Post  Office 
for  her  cousin,  M.  Ferrand,  the  amateur  musician  of  the 
Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements,  d'Argenson,  in  whose 
gift  the  post  lay,  had  ignored  her  request  and  nominated 
another  candidate.  Finally,  he  had  had  the  temerity  to 
criticise  her  arrangements  for  diverting  the  King,  and 
even  to  suggest  that  some  steps  ought  to  be  taken  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  prodigal  expenditure  which  they  entailed — 
a  proceeding  which,  in  her  eyes,  constituted  an  absolutely 
unpardonable  offence,  and  decided  her  to  send  him  to 

J  92 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

join  Orry  and  Maurepas  as  soon  as  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity should  present  itself. 

It  will  thus  be  readily  understood  that  in  this 
antagonism  between  the  crafty  and  ambitious  Minister 
and  the  haughty  and  vindictive  mistress,  both  equally 
determined  to  exercise  the  controlling  voice  in  the  State, 
and  both  equally  unscrupulous  as  to  the  means  they 
employed  to  attain  their  ends,  there  lay  all  the  elements 
of  a  very  interesting  struggle. 

Bitter  as  was  the  hostility  between  d'Argenson  and  the 
favourite,  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  that  hostility  was 
allowed  to  develop  into  an  open  rupture.  Both  parties 
possessed  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  those  two  qualities  so 
highly  esteemed  by  diplomatists — patience  and  the  art  of 
dissimulation — and  had,  therefore,  a  natural  predilection 
for  subterranean  methods  of  warfare.  Moreover,  both 
were  fully  alive  to  the  fact  that  if  they  had  much  to  gain, 
they  had  also  much  at  stake,  and  neither  was,  in  conse- 
quence, at  all  disposed  to  make  any  move  which,  should 
it  fail  of  its  purpose,  might  leave  the  aggressor  at  the 
other's  mercy.  Therefore,  while  fully  resolved  to  leave 
no  stone  unturned  to  achieve  their  objects,  they  judged 
it  best  to  continue  to  all  appearance  on  terms  of  friend- 
ship and  even  of  cordiality.  Thus,  soon  after  Maurepas's 
disgrace,  we  find  d'Argenson  giving  a  grand  dinner-party 
in  honour  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  which  in  the 
opinion  of  Versailles  effectually  disposed  of  the  rumours 
which  had  credited  him  with  resenting  the  dismissal  of 
his  colleague;  while  in  December  1750  it  was  remarked 
that  the  War  Minister  was  the  only  member  of  the 
Council  who  had  been  invited  to  spend  the  night  at 
Bellevue  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  visit  to  the 
marchioness's  new  chateau. 

193  N 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

But,  in  the  midst  of  these  mutual  civilities,  d'Argenson 
was  using  all  his  powers  of  persuasion  to  induce  Richelieu 
to  resume  his  intrigues  against  the  favourite ;  while  the 
lady  was  no  less  actively  engaged  in  endeavouring  to  win 
over  Machault,  the  Comptroller-General. 

This  Minister  had  for  some  time  been  in  doubt  as  to 
which  cause  he  should  espouse.  He  was  at  first  inclined 
to  that  of  d'Argenson,  partly  out  of  gratitude  for  the 
share  the  latter  had  taken  in  procuring  him  his  post,  and 
partly  to  please  his  mistress,  Madame  de  Saint-Florentin, 
who  detested  the  favourite.  He  had,  however,  his  price 
— most  statesmen  had  in  those  days — and  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  offer  to  obtain  for  him  the  office  of  Keeper 
of  the  Seals  in  return  for  his  support  was  too  great 
a  temptation  to  be  resisted.  A  few  days  after  his 
appointment  the  King  happened  to  complain  to  the 
marchioness  that  some  private  matters  on  which  he  had 
had  occasion  to  consult  his  consort  were  being  discussed 
at  Court,  whereupon  Madame  de  Pompadour  adroitly 
succeeded  in  casting  suspicion  upon  d'Argenson,  who  had 
succeeded  Maurepas  in  the  confidence  of  the  Queen  and 
the  Royal  Family.  The  consequence  was  that  on  the 
day  on  which  Machault  took  his  place  at  the  Council  as 
Keeper  of  the  Seals,  the  King  said  coldly  to  the  War 
Minister,  "  Monsieur,  you  will  now  have  to  draw  back 
a  little."  Such  a  speech  was  regarded  by  all  present  as 
a  sign  that  d'Argenson  was  in  disgrace ;  and  this  opinion 
was  confirmed  a  little  later  when  it  became  known  that 
Machault  had  been  chosen  to  instruct  the  young  Dauphin 
in  the  procedure  of  the  Council — a  privilege  which, 
according  to  all  precedent,  belonged  to  d'Argenson,  as 
the  doyen  of  the  Secretaries  of  State. 

So  the   first   honours  of   the   combat   remained  with 

194 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Madame  de  Pompadour ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  her 
adversary  had  succeeded  in  more  than  equalising  matters. 

We  have  had  occasion  to  mention  several  times  in  the 
course  of  this  history  a  certain  Madame  d'Estrades,  who 
was  a  cousin  by  marriage  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
and  had  been  one  of  that  lady's  sponsors  on  the  occasion 
of  her  presentation  at  Court.  She  was  a  little  stout 
woman,  with  a  most  unprepossessing  cast  of  countenance, 
while  her  mind,  according  to  Marmontel,  was  "  as  ugly 
as  her  person."  ^  Under  the  plea  of  kinship  and  by 
assiduous  flattery  she  had  succeeded  in  insinuating  herself 
into  the  confidence  of  the  marchioness,  who  rewarded  her 
supposed  fidelity  by  obtaining  for  her  the  post  of  dame 
d'atourX.o  the  King's  daughters,  and  by  frequently  inviting 
her  to  her  supper-parties  and  the  performances  of  the 
Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements.  As  time  went  on, 
however,  and  the  favourite's  power  increased,  Madame 
d'Estrades's  feelings  underwent  a  change,  and,  while 
continuing  to  remain  on  terms  of  affectionate  intimacy 
with  her  relative,  to  accompany  her  on  all  her  journeys, 
and  to  be  the  recipient  of  all  her  confidences,  she,  in 
reality,  cherished  towards  her  one  of  those  bitter  enmities 
which  people  occasionally  conceive  against  those  whose 
only  offence,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  lies  in  having 
outdistanced  them  in  the  race  of  life.^ 

The  astute  d'Argenson,  who  had  by  some  means  dis- 
covered the  nature  of  the  sentiments  which  Madame 
d'Estrades  entertained  towards  her  patroness,  was  not  slow 

^   Memoir ei  de  Marmontel,  ii.  31. 

2  Madame  du  Hausset  declares  that  Madame  d'Estrades  actually 
attempted  to  supplant  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  the  good  graces  of  the 
King,  and  relates  a  story  in  proof  of  her  assertion,  which,  however,  is 
a  little  too  gat  for  us  to  venture  upon. 

195 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  recognise  the  importance  of  having  an  ally  in  the 
enemy's  camp,  and  forthwith  determined  to  secure  her 
co-operation.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  he  paid 
her  the  most  assiduous  court ;  and  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing first  friendly  and  afterwards  tender  relations  with 
the  ill-favoured  little  countess,  a  move  which  his  brother, 
the  marquis,  characterises  as  a  "  masterly  stroke  of 
diplomacy."  ^ 

This  rapprochement^  of  which  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
strange  to  say,  does  not  appear  to  have  had  the  faintest 
suspicion,  was,  of  course,  of  inestimable  advantage  to  the 
War  Minister  in  his  designs  against  the  favourite,  as 
Madame  d'Estrades  enjoyed  the  latter's  entire  confidence 
and  faithfully  reported  to  her  lover  everything  that  took 
place  in  Madame  de  Pompadour's  apartments,  and 
especially  the  incessant  fear  of  the  marchioness  lest  the 
fickle  monarch  should  transfer  his  affections  to  some 
younger  woman. 

Now  there  happened  to  be  at  Court  at  this  time  a 
certain  Madame  de  Choiseul-Romanet,  a  very  charming 
girl  of  nineteen  and  a  niece  of  Madame  d'Estrades.  This 
young  lady,  like  her  aunt,  was  under  considerable  obliga- 
tions to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  had  not  only 
arranged  her  marriage,  but,  by  way  of  a  wedding-present, 
had  obtained  for  her  the  post  of  lady-in-waiting  to  the 
princesses,  and  for  her  husband  that  of  gentleman-in- 
waiting  {menin)  to  the  Dauphin.  The  favourite  treated 
Madame  de  Choiseul  with  much  kindness,  allowing  her 
to  come  and  go  as  she  pleased,  and  frequently  including 
her  in  the  King's  supper-parties. 

The  girl,  who,  in  addition  to  her  beauty,  was  bright  and 
witty,  and  possessed  of  an  inexhaustible  flow  of  animal 

1   Memoires  du  Marquis  iT Argenson,  iv,  59. 
196 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

spirits,  which  not  even  the  presence  of  her  sovereign 
could  entirely  restrain,  soon  made  a  favourable  impres- 
sion on  the  bored  and  listless  monarch  ;  but  at  first  he 
seems  to  have  treated  her  merely  as  a  spoiled  child  and 
to  have  given  Madame  de  Pompadour  no  cause  for  un- 
easiness. Nor,  indeed,  would  there  appear  to  have  been 
any  until  the  detestable  Madame  d'Estrades  conceived 
the  infamous  design  of  using  her  young  and  innocent 
niece  as  the  instrument  for  the  undoing  of  their  com- 
mon benefactress.  To  this  end,  she  deliberately  set 
herself  to  corrupt  the  girl,  whose  head  was  already  a 
little  turned  by  the  attentions  paid  her  by  the  King ; 
and  succeeded  but  too  well. 

Carefully  drilled  by  her  aunt,  Madame  de  Choiseul, 
following  the  example  set  her  by  Madame  de  Pompadour 
under  somewhat  similar  circumstances,  was  heard  to 
declare  that  "  she  was  incapable  of  being  false  to  her 
husband ;  that  she  detested  all  the  young  men  she  had 
met  at  Court ;  and  that  she  would  be  proof  against 
every  one,  save  the  King  himself."  This  speech  Madame 
d'Estrades  and  d'Argenson,  who  was,  of  course,  a  party 
to  the  conspiracy,  took  care  should  reach  the  ears  of 
the  King,  who  rose  to  the  bait  so  artfully  prepared  for 
him  and  soon  passed  from  harmless  banter  to  serious 
love-making. 

Here,  however,  he  encountered  unexpected  opposition. 
Madame  de  Choiseul's  advisers  were  far  cleverer  than 
those  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  earlier  rivals ;  and, 
acting  under  their  instructions,  the  girl  resolutely  re- 
fused to  be  made  the  victim  of  an  ephemeral  passion, 
and,  though  the  King  heaped  favours  upon  her  and 
her  relatives,  accorded  nothing  in  return. 

So    matters    continued   for  some  time,    the    monarch 

197 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

growing  daily  more  ardent  in  his  wooing,  the  lady 
remaining  inflexible.  At  length,  after  Louis  had  in- 
jured his  knee  in  creeping  down  the  staircase  in  the  dark, 
with  the  intention  of  paying  a  surprise  visit  to  the  object 
of  his  admiration,  Madame  d'Estrades  and  d'Argenson 
decided  that  the  farce  had  gone  on  long  enough,  and 
that  it  was  time  that  the  virtue  of  Madame  de  Choiseul 
should  succumb.  Accordingly,  having  carefully  im- 
pressed upon  the  girl  the  importance  of  insisting  on 
the  immediate  dismissal  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  as 
the  very  first  condition  of  her  surrender,  they  awaited 
with  impatience  the  result  of  an  interview  between 
Madame  de  Choiseul  and  the  King,  at  which  they  had 
reason  to  believe  the  matter  would  be  definitely  settled. 

We  will  let  Dubois,  d'Argenson's  private  secretary,  who 
was  in  his  master's  confidence,  relate  what  followed : — 

"The  rendezvous  was  granted;  the  young  lady  had 
gone  to  it ;  and  the  interview  still  continued,  while  M. 
d'Argenson,  Madame  d'Estrades,  Quesnay,  and  myself 
were  together  in  the  Minister's  closet.  We  two  were 
silent  witnesses ;  but  M.  d'Argenson  and  Madame 
d'Estrades  were  intensely  excited  and  very  anxious  as 
to  the  issue.  After  we  had  been  waiting  a  consider- 
able time,  Madame  de  Choiseul  enters,  with  her  hair 
dishevelled,  and  in  a  state  of  excitement  which  announced 
her  triumph.  Madame  d'Estrades  flies  to  meet  her  with 
open  arms,  and  inquires  if  she  has  gained  her  point  ? 
'  Yes,'  replied  she.  '  I  have  gained  it ;  I  am  beloved ; 
he  is  happy ;  she  is  to  be  sent  away ;  he  has  given  me 
his  promise.'  At  these  words  there  was  a  burst  of 
joy  in  the  cabinet.  Quesnay  alone  remained  unmoved. 
*  Doctor,'  said  d'Argenson  to  him,  '  there  will  be  no 
change  so   far  as  you  are  concerned,  and  we  hope  you 

198 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

will  remain.'  Quesnay  rose  and  coldly  replied,  '  Mon- 
sieur le  Comte,  I  have  been  attached  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour  in  her  prosperity  and  shall  be  equally  so 
in  her  disgrace  * ;  and  he  immediately  left  the  room. 
We  were  astounded,  but  no  one  felt  the  least  mistrust. 
'  I  know  him,'  said  Madame  d'Estrades,  '  he  is  not  a 
man  to  betray  us.' "  ^  And,  indeed,  it  was  not  from  the 
honest  doctor,  but  from  a  totally  unexpected  quarter 
that  Madame  de  Pompadour  learned  what  was  going  for- 
ward, and  was  thus  enabled  to  outwit  the  conspirators  at 
the  very  moment  that  their  triumph  seemed  assured. 

The  dismissal  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  by  no 
means  the  only  condition  which  Madame  de  Choiseul 
had  sought  to  impose  upon  her  royal  lover.  The  value 
she  set  upon  her  charms  was  an  exalted  one.  She  had 
already  obtained  for  her  husband — "  the  greatest  brute 
at  Court,"  the  Marquis  d'Argenson  calls  him — the  post 
of  inspecteur  of  the  forces,  and  she  now  demanded  that 
the  Choiseul  family  should  be  recognised  as  of  the  royal 
blood,  and  treated  as  cousins,  in  virtue  of  a  marriage 
which  one  of  their  ancestors  had  contracted  with  a 
princess  of  the  House  of  Bourbon.  To  this  preposter- 
ous demand  the  King  not  unnaturally  demurred,  and 
wrote  to  the  lady,  pointing  out  the  difficulty  of  acceding 
to  her  wishes  and  suggesting  a  compromise.  Uncertain 
as  to  what  answer  she  should  make,  Madame  de  Choiseul 
decided  to  take  counsel  with  one  of  her  male  relatives, 
and,  accordingly,  laid  the  King's  letter  before  her 
cousin,  the  Comte  de  Stainville  (afterwards  the  Due 
de  Choiseul),  who  was  well  known  to  be  one  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  most  bitter  enemies,  and  had  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  dub   himself  "  le  chevalier  de  Maurepas^''  in 

^  Memoir es  de  Marmontel,  ii.  32. 
199 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

order  to  show  how  keen  were  his  sympathies  with  the 
exiled  Minister. 

Now,  unfortunately  for  the  success  of  Madame  de 
Choiseul's  plans,  it  happened  that  the  count,  who  was 
extremely  ambitious,  had  lately  been  seriously  consider- 
ing whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  for  him  to 
abandon  his  attitude  of  hostility  to  the  favourite,  seeing 
that  without  her  support,  or  at  any  rate  her  neutrality, 
all  avenues  to  advancement  must  inevitably  remain 
closed  to  him.  After  a  short  mental  struggle,  ambition 
gained  the  day,  and  at  the  very  moment  of  his  cousin's 
visit  he  was  racking  his  brains  to  devise  some  means 
whereby  he  might  hope  to  appease  an  animosity  which 
his  own  folly  had  provoked. 

No  sooner  did  Madame  de  Choiseul  inform  him  how 
matters  stood,  than  he  recognised  that  here  was  an  op- 
portunity of  gaining  by  one  stroke  what  years  of  assidu- 
ous flattery  might  fail  to  accomplish.  (He  had,  it  should 
be  mentioned,  no  love  either  for  d'Argenson  or  Madame 
d'Estrades,  and  very  little  faith  in  his  volatile  cousin's 
ability  to  retain  the  King's  affections  for  any  length  of 
time.)  Accordingly,  under  the  pretext  of  requiring 
time  for  reflection  before  advising  the  lady  as  to  what 
form  her  reply  should  take,  he  induced  her  to  leave  the 
letter  in  his  hands  until  the  following  day,  and  then, 
going  straight  to  Madame  de  Pompadour's  apartments, 
boldly  requested  an  interview. 

He  was  admitted,  and,  anticipating  the  marchioness's 
inquiry  as  to  the  reason  of  this  most  unexpected  visit, 
exclaimed,  "  Madame,  you  look  upon  me  as  one  of  your 
enemies.  You  are  unjust  enough  to  believe  that  I  am  a 
party  to  the  intrigues  that  are  going  on  to  discredit  you 
with  the  King.     Pause  !  Read  this,  and  then  judge  me  !  " 

200 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

With  these  words,  he  handed  her  the  letter  which 
Louis  had  written  to  Madame  de  Choiseul,  declaring 
that  though  he  had  no  love  for  the  favourite,  he  was 
full  of  esteem  for  the  woman  ;  that  a  frivolous  girl  like 
his  cousin,  did  she  succeed  in  her  endeavours  to  supplant 
her,  would  only  abuse  the  privileges  of  her  high  posi- 
tion, and  that,  in  taking  the  step  he  had,  he  was  actuated 
solely  by  his  desire  for  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and 
regard  for  the  happiness  of  his  kinsman,  M.  de  Choiseul. 
Then,  without  waiting  for  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
thanks,  he  bowed  and  withdrew,  to  receive  not  long 
afterwards  the  post  of  Ambassador  to  the  Vatican,  as  an 
earnest  of  still  greater  favours  to  come. 

Once  aware  of  the  plans  of  the  conspirators,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  had  little  difficulty  in  counteracting  them. 
The  danger  to  her  had  lain  in  the  secrecy  with  which  her 
enemies  had  conducted  their  operations.  As  soon  as 
they  found  themselves  confronted  with  the  necessity  of 
giving  battle  in  the  open,  they  ceased  to  be  formidable, 
more  especially  as  d'Argenson  and  Madame  d'Estrades 
did  not  dare  to  avow  their  connection  with  the  affair. 
What  passed  between  the  marchioness  and  the  lover  who 
had  been  so  ready  to  cast  her  off  never  transpired.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  the  favourite,  with  her  usual 
tact,  affected  to  believe  that  the  King  had  been  the  un- 
willing victim  of  a  designing  woman,  and  that  the  pusil- 
lanimous monarch,  who  would  have  sacrificed  half  his 
kingdom  to  avoid  an  hour's  bickering,  did  not  attempt 
to  contradict  her,  and  abandoned  his  new  enchantress 
without  the  semblance  of  resistance. 

As  for  that  misguided  young  person,  her  fate  was  soon 
decided.  She  was  denounced  as  "  a  little  serpent  whom 
I   have    nourished  in  my   bosom " ;    accused   of  having 

201 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

been  the  mistress  of  a  certain  Chevalier  de  Bissy ;  for- 
bidden to  present  herself  at  the  royal  supper-parties, 
and,  as  soon  as  her  week  of  attendance  on  the  King's 
daughters  was  over,  ordered  to  return  at  once  to  Paris, 
"as  a  forward  minx,  who  had  misconducted  herself  and 
ogled  the  King."  ^  She  did  not  long  survive  her  dis- 
comfiture, as  she  died  six  months  later ;  and  just  as 
Madame  de  Montespan  had  formerly  been  accused  of 
having  poisoned  her  rival.  Mademoiselle  de  Fontanges, 
so  now  the  same  odious  charge  was  brought  against 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  equally,  of  course,  without 
foundation.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  though  perfectly  well  aware 
that  this  affair  had  been  in  reality  the  work  of  Madame 
d'Estrades,  aided  by  the  counsels  of  d'Argenson,  did 
not  for  the  moment  feel  herself  strong  enough  to  take 
any  active  steps  against  that  intriguing  lady,  still  less 
against  the  crafty  and  powerful  Minister.  She,  there- 
fore, affected  to  ignore  the  part  which  they  had  played 
in  the  matter,  and  contented  herself  with  forbidding 
Madame  d'Estrades  to  receive  her  niece  at  Court, 
and  admitting  the  Duchesse  de  Brancas  to  the  place 
in  her  confidence  which  the  countess  had  formerly 
occupied. 

Meanwhile  d'Argenson,  who  was  one  of  those  men 
upon  whom  failure  only  acts  as  a  stimulus  to  renewed 
exertions,  had,  by  a  series  of  dexterous  moves,  recovered 
much  of  the  ground  which  he  had  recently  lost,  and  had 

^   Memotres  du  Marquis  d^ Argenson,  iv.  121. 

-  Referring  to  these  charges,  the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  who  was,  of 
course,  almost  as  hostile  to  the  favourite  as  his  brother  the  War  Minister, 
says  :  "  They  are  merely  groundless  rumours,  emanating  from  malicious 
courtiers,  and  repeated  by  the  foreign  journals." — Memotres^  iv.  142. 

202 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

become  a  rallying-point  for  all  who,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  were  disaffected  towards  the  favourite  or  her 
supporters.  He  had,  by  specious  promises,  won  over  to 
his  side  the  brothers  Paris,  who  considered  that  their 
interests  were  threatened  by  the  financial  schemes  of 
Machault,  and  also  the  Marquis  de  Puisieux  and  the 
Comte  de  Saint-Severin,  the  negotiator  of  the  Treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  both  of  whom  felt  themselves  aggrieved 
by  the  contemptuous  manner  in  which  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour had  lately  treated  them.  Furthermore,  he  had 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  goodwill  of  the  Rigoristes,  as  the 
party  of  the  Queen  and  the  Dauphin  was  called,  by  art- 
fully pretending  to  share  their  pious  horror  of  the  King's 
criminal  connection  with  a  married  woman,  and  that  of 
the  clergy,  by  espousing  their  cause  in  the  quarrel  be- 
tween them  and  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  Thus,  he  now 
had  at  his  back  a  most  powerful  party — the  financiers  of 
the  capital,  the  priesthood,  the  Jesuits,  the  Queen,  the 
Dauphin,  and  the  Royal  Family,  including  the  Prince  de 
Conti,  the  only  one  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  who  had 
free  access  to  the  King  and  was  permitted  to  speak  his 
mind  without  restraint. 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  thoroughly  alarmed  at  the 
course  matters  were  taking,  and,  particularly,  at  the 
favour  with  which  d'Argenson  was  regarded  by  the 
Royal  Family,  strove  to  counteract  his  influence,  and, 
v/ith  this  object,  persuaded  Louis  to  give  Madame 
Adelaide  a  suite  of  apartments  communicating  with 
his  own,  which  she  knew  the  princess  had  long  desired 
to  possess,  but  which  the  King  until  then  had  always 
refused  to  let  her  have.  So  far,  however,  from  being 
grateful  for  this  concession,  Madame  Adelaide  used  her 
increased  opportunities  for  conversation  with  her  father 

203 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

to  poison  his  mind  against  the  favourite,  and,  together 
with  her  sisters,  habitually  spoke  of  her  by  a  sobriquet 
which  is  rather  too  coarse  for  modern  print. 

The  temporary  pacification  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris 
in  the  summer  of  1754 — an  event  largely  due  to  the 
intervention  of  d'Argenson — brought  that  Minister  once 
more  into  high  favour  with  his  royal  master ;  while, 
about  the  same  time,  the  marchioness  perceptibly  lost 
ground,  owing  to  the  King's  annoyance  at  the  reports 
which  reached  his  ears  of  the  prodigal  magnificence 
which  the  lady  was  maintaining  in  her  various  town  and 
country  houses.  It  is  only  fair  to  Madame  de  Pompadour 
to  observe  that  these  reports  were,  for  the  most  part, 
untrue,  and  seem  to  have  originated  in  the  fertile  brain 
of  the  malicious  Madame  d'Estrades. 

Emboldened  by  their  successes,  d'Argenson  and  his 
accomplice  now  took  but  little  trouble  to  disguise  their 
intentions.  "  My  brother  is  closeted  four  hours  a  day 
with  the  d'Estrades  woman,"  writes  the  Marquis  d'Argen- 
son ;  "  they  are  moving  heaven  and  earth  to  bring  about 
the  dismissal  of  Madame  de  Pompadour."  He  adds 
that  the  War  Minister  is  so  much  occupied  in  plotting 
against  the  favourite,  that  he  is  neglecting  the  duties  of 
his  department,  and  prophesies  that  no  good  will  result 
from  all  these  miserable  intrigues. 

Once  more  Madame  de  Pompadour's  position  seemed 
seriously  menaced,  and  once  more  Fortune  declared  itself 
on  her  side,  and,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  it  was  again 
a  letter  which  was  destined  to  be  the  instrument  of  her 
enemies'  discomfiture. 

At  the  beginning  of  August  1755  the  King  wrote  a 
confidential  letter  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  in  reference 
to  a  meeting  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and  enclosed 

2C4 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

therein  a  report  which  he  had  that  morning  received 
from  Berryer,  the  Lieutenant  of  Police.  The  mar- 
chioness, who  happened  to  be  rather  unwell,  and  who 
had,  in  consequence,  remained  in  bed  until  late  in  the  day, 
placed  the  letter,  after  reading  it,  on  a  table  by  her  bed- 
side. In  the  course  of  the  morning  Madame  d'Estrades, 
with  whom,  as  we  have  said,  the  favourite  still  kept  up 
some  show  of  friendship,  called  to  see  her,  and,  taking  a 
seat  close  to  the  bed,  remained  for  some  time  in  conver- 
sation with  her  former  patroness.  After  she  had  taken 
her  departure,  Madame  de  Pompadour  told  her  waiting- 
woman  to  bring  her  the  King's  letter ;  but  it  had  disap- 
peared from  the  table  where  it  had  lain,  and  all  attempts 
to  find  it  were  unsuccessful. 

When  Louis  arrived  to  pay  his  usual  morning  visit, 
the  marchioness  at  once  told  him  of  the  loss  of  the 
letter  and  of  her  suspicions,  and  urged  him  to  mark  his 
sense  of  such  outrageous  conduct  by  ordering  Madame 
d'Estrades  to  leave  the  Court.  The  monarch,  though 
extremely  annoyed  at  the  idea  of  the  letter  falling  into 
the  hands  of  people  for  whom  it  was  not  intended,  hesi- 
tated to  punish  Madame  d'Estrades  on  merely  circum- 
stantial evidence,  and  pleaded  that  his  daughters  were 
greatly  attached  to  their  dame  cTatour^  and  would  be  incon- 
solable if  she  were  sent  away.  Thereupon  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  who  was  aware  that  there  was  a  temporary 
coldness  between  Madame  Adelaide  and  the  countess, 
assured  the  King  that  he  must  be  mistaken,  and,  begging 
him  to  excuse  her  for  a  few  moments,  hastened  to  the 
princess's  apartments,  and  obtained  from  her,  in  an  un- 
guarded moment,  the  confession  that  *'  she  was  tired  of 
Madame  d'Estrades."  Armed  with  this  admission,  she 
returned  to  the  King,  and  after  some  further  resistance 

205 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

on  his  part,  to  overcome  which  the  favourite  did  not 
scruple  to  employ  tears  and  reproaches,  gained  her 
point. 

Shortly  before  his  visit  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
Louis  had  sent  an  invitation  to  Madame  d'Estrades  to 
join  his  supper-party  that  evening.  As  no  time  was 
mentioned  in  the  invitation,  and  as  the  lady  had  an 
engagement  in  Paris  in  the  afternoon,  she  again  repaired 
to  Madame  de  Pompadour's  apartments  and  inquired  at 
what  hour  she  must  return  for  supper. 

"  At  the  usual  hour.  Countess,"  answered  the  trium- 
phant favourite,  with  a  smile. 

Madame  d'Estrades,  accordingly,  started  for  Paris,  but 
on  her  return  journey  she  was  met  by  a  courier,  who 
handed  her  a  letter  from  Saint-Florentin,  the  Commandeur 
des  Ordres  to  the  King,  informing  her,  on  behalf  of  his 
Majesty,  that  her  services  as  dame  d'' atour  to  the  prin- 
cesses were  dispensed  with,  and  forbidding  her  to  return 
to  Versailles.  She  was  permitted,  however,  as  some 
compensation  for  her  abrupt  dismissal,  to  retain  the 
emoluments  of  her  office. 

A  few  months  after  the  dismissal  of  Madame 
d'Estrades,  Bernis  returned  from  his  embassy  to  Venice. 
Madame  de  Pom.padour  hastened  to  pour  her  troubles 
into  her  old  friend's  sympathetic  ear,  and  the  abbe,  who 
appears  to  have  been  honestly  shocked  at  the  lamentable 
condition  in  which  he  found  the  Court  and  the  country,^ 
represented  to  his  patroness  the  disastrous  consequences 

^  "  No  men-of-war  to  protect  our  commerce ;  our  army,  though  so 
large,  inefficient  and  insubordinate ;  our  frontier-fortresses  ill-provisioned 
and  partly  dismantled  ;  no  unanimity  in  the  Council ;  open  war  between 
M.  d'Argenson  and  M.  de  Machault ;  the  Prince  de  Conti,  although 
holding  no   office,   meddling  in  every  department  of  the   State  and  at 

206 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

of  these  miserable  quarrels  and  implored  her  to  sacrifice 
her  own  personal  feelings  to  the  welfare  of  the  State  and 
be  reconciled  to  d'Argenson.  Although  at  first  very 
reluctant  to  follow  his  advice,  she  eventually  consented, 
and  accepted  his  offer  of  mediation.  D'Argenson,  how- 
ever, interpreted  these  friendly  overtures  as  a  confession 
of  weakness  on  the  part  of  his  enemy,  and  haughtily 
refused  to  even  consider  them,  alleging  that  the  dismissal 
of  Madame  d'Estrades  had  been  a  direct  insult  to 
himself.  So  Bernis's  well-meant  endeavours  to  bring 
about  a  better  understanding  came  to  nothing,  and  the 
War  Minister  continued  his  ijiachinations  against  the 
favourite,  with  what  result  we  shall  presently  see. 

variance  with  Madame  de  Pompadour  ;  the  King  endeavouring  to  hold 
the  balance  between  the  contending  parties  ;  scandalous  extravagance  at 
Court ;  the  people  in  a  state  of  misery  ;  no  capacity,  no  patriotism,  no 
commanders  either  military  or  naval,  though  we  are  on  ti  e  eve  of  war 
(with  England)." — Memoires  et  Letires  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  i.  205. 


207 


CHAPTER    XI 

The  Parc-aux-Cerfs — Conflict  of  opinion  in  regard  to  its 
situation — The  mystery  solved  by  M.  Le  Roi — History  of 
the  old  deer-park  of  Versailles — No.  4,  Rue  Saint  Mederic — 
A  secret  agent  of  Louis  XV.  purchases  it,  in  his  own  name,  on 
behalf  of  the  King — Exaggerated  reports  as  to  the  character 
of  this  establishment — La  petite  Morfil — The  King's  attentions 
to  her — Madame  d'Estrees  intrigues  with  her  against  Madame 
de  Pompadour — La  petite  Morfil  is  sent  away — The  King 
assumes  an  incognito  when  visiting  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs — 
Madame  du  Hausset  receives  a  commission — The  young  lady 
in  the  Avenue  de  Saint-Cloud — The  "  Polish  count " — 
Madame  de  Pompadour's  conduct  in  this  matter  considered. 

If  Madame  de  Pompadour  feared  titled  rivals  and  had 
recourse  to  every  means  in  her  power  to  prevent  them 
approaching  the  King,  she,'  on  the  other  hand,  was  full  of 
indulgence  for  the  frailties  of  her  royal  lover,  always 
provided  that  his  choice  happened  to  fall  upon  women 
of  humble  birth,  who  cared  for  nothing  but  money  or 
what  money  could  purchase.  She  did  even  more  than 
close  her  eyes  to  the  dissolute  monarch's  continuous 
infidelities,  and  there  have  not  been  wanting  those  who 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  accuse  her  of  encouraging  and 
even  consenting  to  play  the  degrading  role  of  entremetteur 
in  the  obscure  amours,  for  which  the  notorious  Parc-aux- 
Cerfs  was  the  rendezvous. 

There   is   no   circumstance   which   has  rendered   more 

30S 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

odious  the  name  of  Louis  XV.,  and  which,  at  the  same 
time,  has  given  rise  to  such  diversity  of  opinion  among 
both  contemporary  chroniclers  and  historians  as  the 
mysterious  establishment  known  as  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs. 
The  best  informed  writers  appear  to  have  been  ignorant 
as  to  its  locality.  Some,  misled  by  its  name,  asserted 
that  it  was  an  old  hunting-lodge  surrounded  by  gardens 
and  woods,  which  Louis  XV.  converted  into  a  kind  of 
little  palace  ;  others  confounded  it  with  the  Hermitage 
of  Madame  de  Pompadour  ;  while  a  few  even  denied  the 
existence  of  any  such  place  and  affected  to  regard  it  as 
one  of  those  myths  in  which  French  history  is  so  prolific/ 
In  fact,  no  one  was  able  to  pronounce  with  any  degree  of 
certainty  where  it  had  been  situated  until  about  forty 
years  ago,  when,  thanks  to  the  investigations  of  M.  Le 
Roi,  the  Librarian  of  Versailles,  the  mystery  was  at  length 
solved. 

In  order,  however,  to  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
the  importance  of  M.  Le  Roi's  discovery,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  early  history 
of  Versailles. 

When  Louis  XIII.  bought  the  seizneurie  of  Versailles 
and  built  thereon  the  little  hunting-lodge  which  was 
afterwards  transformed  into  the  famous  palace,  it  was 
with  the  primary  object  of  enjoying  greater  facilities  for 
the  chase,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond,  as  the 
manor  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  densely  wooded 
country.  Accordingly,  one  of  his  first  cares  was  to  take 
measures  for  the  rearing  and  preservation  of  the  animals 

1  To  this  last  class  belongs  that  redoubtable  champion  of  the  Bourbons, 
M.  Capefigue,  who  declares  that  the  whole  story  was  an  impudent 
fabrication  of  the  philosophers,  invented  with  the  object  of  discrediting 
the  monarchy.     His  arguments  are  ingenious,  but  unconvincing. 

209  o 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

most  frequently  hunted,  particularly  deer,  and,  for  this 
purpose,  he  enclosed  the  whole  of  the  land  which  now  lies 
between  the  Rue  de  Satory,  the  Rue  des  Rossignols,  and 
the  Rue  Saint-Mederic,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of  the 
Parc-aux-Cerfs. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  succeeding  reign  this 
Parc-aux-Cerfs  was  suffered  to  remain  intact,  and  the 
city  then  consisted  of  old  Versailles  and  of  the  new  town, 
forming  together  a  single  parish — that  of  Notre-Dame. 
But  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  rapid 
growth  of  Versailles  determined  the  King  to  sacrifice  the 
deer-park  ;  and  so,  in  1694,  the  walls  were  pulled  down, 
the  trees  uprooted,  the  keepers'  lodges  destroyed,  the 
ground  levelled,  and  streets  and  houses  began  to  spring 
up  on  all  sides. 

After  the  death  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  importance  of 
Versailles,  wholly  dependent  as  it  was  on  the  presence  of 
a  luxurious  Court,  declined  greatly,  and  building  opera- 
tions were  for  a  time  almost  entirely  suspended.  How- 
ever, with  the  decision  of  Louis  XV,  to  reside  there,  as 
his  predecessor  had  done,  and  the  return  of  the  Court, 
came  a  renewed  lease  of  prosperity ;  the  population, 
which  had  been  about  80,000  at  the  close  of  the  pre- 
vious reign,  was  soon  doubled,  and  so  many  houses  were 
constructed  on  the  site  of  the  old  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  and 
that  quarter  of  the  town  became  so  crowded,  that  the 
authorities  decided  to  divide  the  city  into  two  parts  and 
to  create  a  new  parish,  forming  what  is  now  the  parish  of 
Saint-Louis.^ 

But  to  come  to  the  mysterious  establishment  of  Louis 
XV. 

When  le  Grand  Monarque  decided  to  sacrifice  the  old 

^   Le  Roi's  Cur'tosites  historiques,  p.  230. 
210 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

deer-park,  the  land  was  distributed  among  a  number  of 
people,  the  majority  of  whom  were  attached  to  the  Royal 
Household.  Thus  it  was  that  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  Nos.  2  and  4  Rue  Saint-Med^ric  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  a  certain  Jacques  Desnoues,  one  of  the  King's 
valets-de-chamhre^  who  built  there  a  house  surrounded  by 
a  garden,  which,  in  17 12,  he  sold  to  another  of  Louis's 
personal  attendants,  who,  in  his  turn,  disposed  of  it  to  a 
citizen  of  Versailles  named  Cremer.  This  Cr6mer,  for 
the  sake  of  greater  privacy,  walled  in  the  property,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  block  the  Rue  des  Tournelles  and  the 
Rue  Saint-Med^ric  and  form  two  blind  alleys ;  and,  on 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1740,  bequeathed  the  house 
and  part  of  the  garden  to  his  son  and  the  remainder  to 
his  widow,  who  utilised  it  to  build  for  herself  another 
house,  now  No,  2  Rue  Saint-Mederic. 

In  1755  when  the  confidential  agents  of  Louis  XV. 
were  in  search  of  a  house  where  the  King  could  carry  on 
his  amours  secure  from  all  fear  of  publicity,  they  fixed 
upon  Cremer's  (No.  4),  which,  situated  as  it  was  in  a 
retired  quarter  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  at  the  bottom  of 
a  cul-de-sac^  and  without  any  other  houses  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity,  save  that  of  the  widow  Cremer,  whose 
windows,  however,  did  not  command  a  view  of  the 
approach  to  her  son's  residence,  was  exactly  suited  to 
their  requirements. 

There  was,  however,  a  difficulty  in  the  way.  If  the 
King  himself,  or  his  agents,  who  were  well  known, 
treated  directly  for  the  purchase  of  the  house,  secrecy 
would  no  longer  be  possible,  and  the  use  to  which  it  was 
intended  to  be  put  would  very  quickly  be  suspected. 
The  negotiations  were,  therefore,  entrusted  to  a  third 
party,   one  Vallet,   a  tipstaff   of  the  Chatelet  de  Paris, 

211 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

who  bought  the  house  in  his  own  name,  and  himself  dis- 
charged the  rates  and  taxes  as  they  became  due.  These 
proceedings  no  doubt  account  for  much  of  the  mystery 
which  for  more  than  a  century  surrounded  this  estab- 
lishment, for  no  one,  of  course,  had  the  least  suspicion 
that  under  the  name  of  this  Vallet  was  concealed  that  of 
the  King  of  France.  Cremer  himself  was  completely 
hoodwinked  and  believed  Vallet  to  be  the  bond-fide  pur- 
chaser of  his  property,  but  that  worthy,  as  soon  as  the 
sale  had  been  completed,  repaired  alone  to  a  notary's 
office  and  directed  him  to  draw  up  the  following  decla- 
ration, which  was  discovered  by  M.  Le  Roi  in  the 
Archives  of  Versailles,  where  it  had  long  lain  without 
any  one  suspecting  the  interest  which  attached  to  it : — 

"To-day  there  has  appeared  before  the  undersigned 
counsellors  of  the  King,  notaries  to  the  Chatelet  de  Paris, 
the  Sieur  Francois  Vallet,  bailiff  of  the  aforesaid  Chatelet 
de  Paris,  there  residing.  Rue  des  Dechargeurs,  parish  of 
Saint-Germain  TAuxerrois,  who  has  made  a  declaration  to 
the  effect  that  he  neither  has  nor  claims  to  have  any  interest 
whatsoever  in  the  purchase  which  has  just  been  made  in 
his  name,  from  Jean-Michel-Denis  Cremer  and  his  wife, 
of  a  house  situated  at  Versailles,  Rue  Saint-Med6ric, 
parish  of  Saint-Louis,  with  its  dependencies,  by  contract 
approved  by  the  aforesaid  notaries,  of  whom  M^  Patu, 
being  one  of  them,  has  this  day  received  the  draft ;  but 
that  the  purchase  is  for  and  to  the  use  of  the  King^  the 
price  having  been  paid  with  money  belonging  to  His  Majesty 
furnished  for  that  purpose.  That  is  the  reason  why  he 
makes  this  declaration,  consenting  that  His  Majesty 
should  enjoy,  use,  and  dispose  of  the  said  house  in  full 
ownership,  without  payment  for  the  same,  such  payment 

212 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

being  made  in  the  name  of  the  said  person  here  present, 
of  the  rights  of  assignment,  and  sale,  and  centieme 
denier^  and  the  enjoyment  and  collection  of  the  rents, 
which  may  also  be  made  in  his  name,  without  prejudice  to 
the  rights  acquired  by  His  Majesty  in  the  said  house  and  its 
dependencies.  And  he  further  declares  that  the  copy  of 
the  said  contract  of  purchase  and  the  titles  set  out 
therein  have  been  delivered  by  him  into  the  hands  of 
His  Majesty's  charge  des  ordres^  and  have  been  accepted 
on  behalf  of  His  Majesty  by  the  undersigned  notaries. 

"  Executed  at  Paris,  this  25th  of  November  1755, 
and  signed, 
"  Vallet — Patu-Brochant."  ^ 

"  This,"  says  M.  Le  Roi,  "  was  without  a  doubt  the 
little  house  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs  which  so  long  remained 
undiscovered.  It  was  here  that  from  1755  to  1771  were 
successively  installed  the  young  girls  whom  the  infamous 
ministers  to  the  royal  pleasures  offered  to  the  jaded 
senses  of  Louis  XV."  ^ 

The  ignorance  of  the  situation  of  this  establishment, 
which,  prior  to  M.  Le  Roi's  investigations,  existed  even 

1  Le  Roi's  Curios'ttes  hlstoriques,  p.  236.  In  May  177  I.  when  Madame 
du  Barry  held  undisputed  sway  over  the  heart  of  Louis  XV.,  this  house  was 
sold  to  a  man  named  Sevin,  an  usher  in  the  household  of  Madame  Vic- 
toire,  the  King's  daughter,  for  16,000  livres.  In  the  deed  of  sale,  the 
King,  and  not  Vallet,  appears  as  owner  of  the  property,  and  the  royal 
signature  is  affixed  to  the  document. 

2  Le  Roi's  Curios'ttes  hlstoriques,  p.  237.  By  a  singular  coincidence, 
a  year  or  two  after  M.  Le  Roi  had  published  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tions, the  Nouveaux  Memoires  du  Due  de  Richelieu  appeared,  which 
confirm  his  statements  in  every  particular,  save  that  the  duke,  possibly 
through  a  slip  of  the  pen,  puts  the  date  of  Vallet's  purchase  of  the  house 
as  November  1757,  instead  of  November  1755. 

213 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

among  usually  well-informed  writers,  extended  also  to 
its  character,  and  gave  rise  to  the  most  exaggerated 
stories  of  what  took  place  there.  For  example,  in 
d'Angerville's  Vie  privee  de  Louis  XV. ^  published  in 
1 78 1,  which,  in  spite  of  a  number  of  minor  inaccuracies, 
is  a  work  of  considerable  value,  we  find  the  following 
passage : — 

*'  Independent  of  the  injury  which  this  abominable 
institution  inflicted  on  morality,  it  is  dreadful  to  contem- 
plate the  enormous  sums  which  it  must  have  cost  the 
State.  In  fact,  it  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the 
expenses  of  that  series  of  agents  of  all  kinds,  principal 
and  subordinate,  who  were  being  constantly  employed  in 
scouring  the  kingdom  in  search  of  recruits  for  this  estab- 
lishment. When  to  this  is  added  the  sums  given  to 
those  whom,  although  they  did  not  have  the  happiness 
to  find  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  sultan,  it  was  neverthe- 
less necessary  to  indemnify  for  their  services,  their  dis- 
cretion, and,  above  all,  for  his  contempt ;  the  rewards 
given  to  those  more  fortunate  nymphs  who  gratified  the 
temporary  desires  of  the  monarch,  and  the  pensions  paid 
to  those  who  bore  him  children,  we  may  conclude  that 
there  was  not  one  of  them  who  has  not  been  a  charge  of 
a  million  livres  at  least  to  the  public  treasury.  Let  us 
only  reckon  that  two  in  a  week  passed  through  this  sink 
of  infamy,  that  is  to  say,  a  thousand  in  ten  years,  and 
we  shall  arrive  at  a  total  of  a  thousand  million  livres 
(;^40,ooo,ooo)."  ^ 

Lacretelle,  too,  a  serious  historian,  from  whom  one 
might  have  expected  better  things,  speaks  of  the  number 
of  young  women  who  at  different  times  inhabited  the 
Parc-aux-Cerfs  as  "  immense,"  and  asserts  that  numbers 

■^  Vie  privee  de  Louts  XV.,  iii.  12. 
214 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

of  them  were  "  kidnapped "  by  the  agents  of  the 
King.^ 

The  utter  absurdity  of  such  statements  as  these  will  be 
understood  when  we  mention  that,  according  to  Le  Roi, 
the  house  in  the  Rue  Saint- Mederic  was  so  small  that 
it  was  hardly  possible  to  accommodate  more  than  one 
lady  at  a  time,  with  her  duenna  and  the  servant  who 
waited  upon  them.^ 

The  secrets  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs  were  so  carefully 
guarded  that  very  little  authentic  information  with 
regard  to  its  various  inmates  has  come  down  to  us. 
There  was,  however,  one  young  lady  who  achieved  a 
certain  amount  of  notoriety — the  one,  in  fact,  for  whose 
accommodation  the  house  was  originally  taken.  This 
was  a  girl  of  the  name  of  Murphy,  commonly  called 
*'  la  -petite  Morfil^''  whose  sister  was  a  well-known  artists' 
model,  and  who  had  herself  sat  to  Boucher  for  the  head 
of  the  Virgin  in  a  picture  of  the  Holy  Family^  which  hung 
on  the  walls  of  the  Queen's  oratory,  and  "  which  the 
pious  Marie  Leczinska  adored  without  troubling  herself 

^  Lacretelle's  H'tstoire  du  Dix-Huitieme  Steele,  m.  169. 

2  Le  Roi's  Curios'ttes  historiques,  p.  238.  This  is  confirmed  by 
Madame  du  Hausset  in  her  Memoires :  "A  commissioner  of  the  Navy, 
named  Mercier,  who  had  had  some  share  in  the  education  of  the  Abbe 
de  Bourbon  (a  son  of  Louis  XV.  by  Mademoiselle  de  Romans)  was 
better  acquainted  with  this  establishment  than  any  one  else,  and  this  is 
what  he  told  one  of  his  friends:  *The  house  was  very  unpretentious  in 
appearance ;  there  was  as  a  rule  only  one  young  lady  there.  The  wife  of 
a  clerk  in  the  War  Office  acted  as  companion  and  played  cards  or  did 
tapestry-work  with  her.  This  woman  used  to  say  that  she  was  her  niece 
and  when  the  King  was  away  from  Versailles,  used  to  remove  with  her 
into  the  country.' "  And  Madame  du  Hausset  says  herself:  "There 
were  hardly  ever  more  than  two  ladies  there,  and  very  often  only  one. 
Sometunes  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs  ivas  empty  for  five  or  six  months  at  a 
time.'' 

215 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

about  the  original,"^  The  Marquis  d'Argenson  says 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  cobbler,  but  other  writers 
assert  that  her  father  was  an  Irish  Jacobite  officer  of  good 
family.  She  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  extremely 
beautiful,  and  with  manners  superior  to  her  station  in 
life,  Lebel,  the  King's  valet-de-chambre^  had  found  her 
in  Paris,  where  she  was  apprenticed  to  a  dressmaker,  and, 
having  bribed  her  parents  and  her  employer,  had  brought 
her  to  his  master,  upon  whom  she  made  so  favourable  an 
impression  that  he  installed  her  in  a  little  house  at 
Versailles,  "  with  a  gouvernante^  a  lady's  maid,  a  cook, 
and  two  men-servants."  This  was  before  the  days  of 
the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  to  which,  however,  she  removed  as 
soon  as  it  was  acquired  by  the  King. 

At  first  this  affair  was  kept  a  profound  secret,  but  after 
she  had  borne  the  King  a  daughter,  the  relations  which 
existed  between  them  soon  became  public  property,  and 
the  lady  visited  him  at  the  chateau  and  had  a  suite  of 
apartments  reserved  for  her  use  at  Fontainebleau.  Indeed, 
Louis's  attentions  to  her  at  this  period  appear  to  have 
been  so  marked,  that  we  find  Cardinal  Durini,  the  Papal 
Nuncio,  informing  the  Vatican  that  "  the  new  Irish  star" 
is  daily  growing  in  favour ;  that  the  King  is  loading  her 
with  costly  presents,  and  that  the  reign  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour  is  drawing  to  a  close. 

This  seems,  also,  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  Mar^chale 

1  Nouveaux  Memoires  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  ili.  389.  From  this  Soulavie 
has  evolved  an  altogether  improbable  story,  which  is  quoted,  in  all  serious- 
ness, by  the  brothers  De  Goncourt  in  their  Madame  de  Pompadour,  to  the 
effect  that  Madame  de  Pompadour,  presumably  with  the  intention  of  weaning 
the  King  from  some  titled  rival,  had  caused  this  picture  to  be  painted. 
Louis  was  taken  to  see  it,  and  after  falling  in  love  with  the  picture,  fell 
in  love  with  the  original. 

216 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

d'Estrees/  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  favourite,  who,  in 
consequence,  having  succeeded  in  gaining  Mademoiselle 
Murphy's  confidence,  urged  her  to  aspire  to  the  position 
of  acknowledged  mistress  and  to  lose  no  opportunity  of 
speaking  disparagingly  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  when 
alone  with  the  King. 

The  girl  proved  only  too  apt  a  tool ;  and  on  the  very 
next  occasion  on  which  the  monarch  came  to  visit  her, 
mquired,  in  a  rather  flippant  manner,  on  what  terms  he 
now  stood  with  the  marchioness,  at  the  same  time  apply- 
ing to  that  lady  an  epithet  the  reverse  of  respectful. 

Louis,  like  so  many  other  persons  whose  rank  is  their 
sole  claim  to  the  regard  of  mankind,  was  extremely 
tenacious  of  his  dignity,  and  never  permitted  even  his 
favourites  to  forget  what  was  due  to  his  exalted  position. 
He  was,  therefore,  much  incensed  at  the  girl's  conduct, 
and,  suspecting  that  she  had  not  asked  the  question  on 
her  own  initiative,  ordered  her  to  tell  him  immediately 
who  had  incited  her  to  speak  in  the  way  she  had.  With 
many  tears  and  entreaties  for  pardon,  she  confessed  that 
it  was  Madame  d'Estrees.  A  few  days  later,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  having  in  the  meantime  learned  what  had 
passed,  Mar^chaie  d'Estrees  received  a  peremptory  order 
to  retire  from  Court,  and  Mademoiselle  Murphy  was  in- 
formed that  a  husband  had  been  found  for  her,"^ 

After  the  dismissal  of  "/^  petite  Morfil^''  Louis  XV., 

1  She  was  the  wife  of  Marechal  d'Estrees,  who  distinguished  himself  at 
Fontenoy  and  in  1757  defeated  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  at  Hastenbeck. 

2  "  Morphise  (j'c)  has  been  married  in  Auvergne:    she  has  espoused  a 

M.  de  P ,  a  lieutenant  in  the  regiment  of  Beauvoisis.      They  have 

given  M.  de  P 50,000  livres  and  Morphise   200,000  livres  and  a 

magnificent  trousseau.  M.  de  Soubise  and  M.  de  Lujac  (the  colonel  of  the 
bridegroom's  regiment)  arranged  the  marriage.      Morphise's  daughter  has 

217 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

either  because  he  feared  that,  like  her,  the  inmates  of 
the  Parc-aux-Cerfs  might  become  the  centre  of  Court 
intrigues,  or  more  probably  because  he  was  unwilling 
that  any  particulars  with  regard  to  these  shameful  amours 
should  get  abroad,  preserved  the  strictest  incognito  on 
the  occasion  of  his  visits  to  the  house,  and  none  of  the 
successors  of  Mademoiselle  Murphy  were  allowed  to 
suspect  his  identity.  Henceforth,  the  secrets  of  the  little 
seraglio  were  known  only  to  two  or  three  confidential 
servants,  and  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  carried  her 
complaisance  to  the  length  of  aiding  her  faithless  lover 
to  conceal  all  trace  of  his  infidelities. 

"  One  day,"  says  Madame  du  Hausset,  "  Madame 
called  me  into  her  cabinet,  where  the  King  was  pacing 
up  and  down,  looking  somewhat  perturbed.  '  You 
must,'  said  she  to  me,  '  go  and  spend  some  days  in 
the  Avenue  de  Saint-Cloud,  in  a  house  to  which  I 
shall  send  you.  You  will  find  there  a  young  person 
about  to  lie  in.'  The  King  said  nothing,  and  I  was 
dumb  with  astonishment. 

"  '  You  will  be  mistress  of  the  house,'  she  continued, 
'  and  preside  like  one  of  the  fabulous  goddesses  at 
the  accouchement.  Your  presence  is  necessary,  in  order 
that  everything  may  pass  off  according  to  the  King's 
wishes  and  in  perfect  secrecy.  You  will  be  present 
at  the  baptism  and  give  the  names  of  the  father  and 
mother.' 

been  placed  in  a  convent.  The  King  makes  her  an  allowance  and  has 
settled  upon  her  an  annuity  of  8000  livies." — Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes^ 
XV.  325. 

D' Argenson  says  that  the  husband's  name  was  d'Ayat ;  that  he  was 
killed  at  the  batile  of  Rossbach,  and  that  his  widow  married  a  certain 
Fran5ois  Lenormant,  a  relative  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  husband. 

218 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

"  Here  the  King  began  to  laugh,  and  said,  '  The  father 
is  a  very  honest  man.' 

" '  Beloved  by  every  one  and  adored  by  ail  who  know 
him,'  rejoined  Madame,  who  then  took  from  a  small 
cupboard  a  little  box  and,  opening  it,  drew  out  an 
aigrette  of  diamonds,  at  the  same  time  saying  to  the 
King,  '  I  have  my  reasons  for  it  not  being  finer.' 

" '  It  is  but  too  much  so,'  replied  the  King,  who 
then  embraced  Madame,  exclaiming,  '  How  kind  you 
are  ! ' 

"She,  on  her  part,  wept  with  emoJ>ion,  and,  putting 
her  hand  on  the  King's  heart,  said,  '  This  is  what  I  wish 
to  secure.' 

"The  King's  eyes  then  filled  with  tears,  and  I  also 
began  weeping  without  knowing  why. 

"Then  the  King  said  to  me,  'Guimard^  will  call  upon 
you  every  day  to  assist  you  with  his  advice,  and  at  the 
critical  moment  you  will  send  for  him  to  come  to  you. 
But  you  must  say  nothing  about  the  sponsors.  You  will 
merely  mention  that  you  are  expecting  them,  and  immedi- 
ately afterwards  you  will  pretend  to  have  received  a  letter 
informing  you  that  they  will  be  unable  to  be  present. 
Then  you  will  affect  to  be  very  much  embarrassed, 
whereupon  Guimard  will  say  that  the  only  thing  to  be 
done  under  the  circumstances  will  be  to  take  the  first 
comers,  and  you  will  take  the  servant  belonging  to  the 
house  and  some  beggar  or  chairman,  to  whom,  however, 
you  must  only  give  twelve  francs,  in  order  not  to  excite 
attention.  .  .  .  Guimard  will  tell  you  the  names  of  the 
father  and  mother.  He  will  be  present  at  the  ceremony, 
which  should  take  place  in  the  evening,  and  will  make 
the  usual  presents.     It  is  but  fair  that  you  should  also 

^  One  of  Louis  XV.'s  confidential  servants. 
219 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

receive  yours,'  and  he  handed  me  fifty  louis,  with  that 
gracious  air  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  assume." 

After  Madame  du  Hausset  had  made  a  suitable 
acknowledgment  of  the  royal  munificence,  the  monarch 
continued,  "  You  will  take  care  of  the  accouchie^  will 
you  not  ?  She  is  a  very  good  child,  who  has  not  in- 
vented gunpowder,  and  I  shall  leave  her  in  your  care 
with  every  confidence :  my  chancellor  will  tell  you  the 
rest,"  and,  with  a  motion  of  his  hand  towards  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  he  quitted  the  room. 

As  soon  as  the  door  closed  behind  the  King,  the 
favourite  said  to  Madame  du  Hausset,  "  Well,  what 
think  you  of  the  part  I  am  playing } " 

"  It  is  that  of  a  superior  woman  and  an  excellent 
friend,"  that  discreet  lady  hastened  to  reply,  thinking 
of  all  the  pretty  things  she  could  buy  with  the  King's 
fifty  louis. 

'*  It  is  his  heart  I  wish  to  secure,"  rejoined  her 
mistress,  and  then,  after  a  pause,  added  contemptuously, 
"  And  all  those  young  girls,  who  have  had  no  educa- 
tion, will  not  take  that  from  me." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  then  proceeded  to  give  her 
femme-de-chaynhre  further  instructions,  in  the  course  of 
which  it  transpired  that  none  of  the  young  ladies  of 
the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  whence  the  one  in  question  had 
come,  had  any  suspicions  as  to  who  their  lover  really 
was.  They  were  informed  that  he  was  a  wealthy  Polish 
nobleman,  a  relative  of  the  Queen,  Marie  Leczinska, 
who  was  obliged  to  conceal  his  amours,  in  deference  to 
the  well-known  prejudices  of  his  royal  kinswoman.  This 
story  had,  it  appeared,  been  invented  on  account  of  the 
cordon-hleu^  which  the  King  had  not  always  time  to  lay 
aside  when  he  went  to  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  because,  to 

220 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

do  so,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  change  his  coat,  and, 
also,  for  his  having  rooms  in  the  palace,  where  the  ladies 
occasionally  visited  him.^ 

Madame  du  Hausset  then  goes  on  to  relate  that  she 
went  to  the  house  in  the  Avenue  de  Saint-Cloud,  where 
she  found  a  woman  named  Bertrand,  who  had  formerly 
been  in  the  service  of  Lebel,  the  King's  valet-de-chambre, 
and  now  had  charge  of  the  fair  inmates,  and  Guimard, 
who  had,  of  course,  for  the  time  being,  discarded  his 
royal  livery.  The  household  consisted  of  two  elderly 
men-servants  and  a  girl,  "  who  was  something  between 
a  housemaid  and  a  waiting-woman."  The  young  lady 
to  whom  Madame  du  Hausset  was  accredited  she  de- 

^  On  one  occasion,  however,  the  King's  incognito  failed  to  protect 
him.  At  the  time  of  his  attempted  assassination  by  Damiens,  a  young 
girl,  for  whom  Louis  had  manifested  "  more  tenderness  than  was  usual 
with  him,"  was  found  by  the  woman  who  had  charge  of  the  Parc-aux- 
Cerfs — "  la  mere  ahbesse,"  Madame  du  Hausset  calls  her — prostrate  with 
grief.  Questioned  as  to  its  cause,  she  confessed  that  she  had  discovered 
that  the  Polish  count  and  the  King  of  France  were  one  and  the  same 
person.  She  had,  it  appears,  taken  from  Louis's  pockets  two  letters,  one 
of  which  was  from  the  King  of  Spain,  the  other  from  the  Abbe  de  Broglie. 
The  woman  at  once  communicated  with  Lebel,  the  King's  valet-de-chambre, 
who  informed  his  master.  The  latter  was  much  embarrassed,  and  re- 
solved not  to  see  the  girl  again,  but  continued  to  visit  another  young 
woman  who  was  in  the  house  at  the  same  time.  The  poor  abandoned  girl, 
however,  having  ascertained  the  hour  at  which  the  King  usually  came 
to  see  her  companion,  was  on  the  watch,  and,  as  soon  as  Louis  entered 
the  room  where  her  rival  was,  rushed  in,  and,  throwing  herself  at  his 
feet,  exclaimed,  "  Yes,  you  are  the  King  of  all  the  realm,  but  that  would 
matter  nothing  to  me  if  you  were  not  the  king  of  my  heart.  Do  not 
forsake  me,  my  beloved  sovereign  :  I  was  nearly  mad  when  your  life 
was  attempted."  Louis  calmed  her  as  best  he  could,  and  departed  with 
some  vague  promises.  A  few  days  later  the  unfortunate  girl  was  taken 
to  a  madhouse,  and  there  detained  some  time. — Memo'ires  de  Madame  du 
Hausset  (edit.  1825),  p.  95. 

221 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

scribes  as  "  extremely  pretty,  and  very  elegantly  dressed, 
though  not  too  remarkably."  She  was  greatly  delighted 
with  the  diamond  aigrette,  which  the  femme-de-chamhre 
had  brought  with  her,  and  seemed  well  content  with 
her  lot.  She  asked  her  visitor  for  news  of  "  the  count " 
(as  she  called  the  King),  adding,  *'  He  will  be  very 
sorry  not  to  be  with  me  now,  but  he  was  obliged  to 
set  out  on  a  long  journey.  He  is  very  handsome,  and 
loves  me  with  all  his  heart.  He  promised  me  an 
allowance ;  but  I  love  him  disinterestedly,  and,  if  he 
would  let  me,  I  would  follow  him  to  Poland."  She 
then  told  Madame  du  Hausset  that  her  mother,  who 
was  a  widow,  had  formerly  kept  a  large  grocer's  shop 
and  had  got  into  financial  difficulties ;  but  that  "  the 
count "  had  come  to  her  assistance,  and  now  allowed 
her  a  pension  of  15,000  livres. 

A  few  days  later  the  young  lady  gave  birth  to  a  child, 
who,  however,  was  immediately  taken  away  from  her, 
and  soon  afterwards  she  was  told  that  it  was  dead,  "  in 
order  that  no  trace  of  its  existence  might  remain  for  a 
certain  time."  It  was,  eventually,  to  be  restored  to  its 
mother,  who,  as  soon  as  she  had  recovered,  was  sent 
back  to  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs. 

On  Madame  du  Hausset's  return  to  the  palace,  she 
was  sent  for  by  the  King,  who  gave  her  "  a  large  gold 
snuff-box  containing  two  rouleaux  of  twenty-five  louis 
each,"  but  did  not  say  a  word  about  the  service  on 
which  she  had  been  employed.  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
however,  was  more  communicative ;  asked  a  great  many 
questions  about  the  young  lady,  and  "  laughed  heartily 
at  her  simplicity  and  at  all  she  said  about  the  Polish 
nobleman." 

"  He  is  disgusted  with  the  Princess  (the  Queen,  Marie 

222 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Leczinska,  who  was  Princess  of  Poland),"  she  added, 
"  and  I  think  will  return  to  Poland  for  good  and  all 
in  a  couple  of  months." 

"  And  the  young  lady  ? "  inquired  Madame  du 
Hausset. 

"  She  will  be  married  in  the  country,"  answered  her 
mistress,  "with  a  dowry  of  forty  thousand  ^cus  (^8000) 
at  the  most,  and  a  few  diamonds."  ^ 

The  circumstances  related  by  Madame  du  Hausset 
are  in  all  probability  the  true  story  of  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour's connection  with  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs.  That  she 
was  acquainted  with  much  that  went  on  in  the  houses 
in  the  Rue  Saint-Mederic  and  the  Avenue  de  Saint- 
Cloud,  and  now  and  again,  as  in  the  case  just  mentioned, 
aided  Louis  XV.  to  conceal  his  identity  and  so  prevent 
scandal,  it  would  be  idle  to  deny ;  but  there  the  matter, 
so  far  as  she  was  concerned,  began  and  ended.  To  assist 
a  person  to  conceal  his  follies  or  his  crimes — to  become, 
in  short,  an  accessory  after  the  fact — is  undoubtedly  wrong; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
deliberately  inciting  him  to  commit  them,  and  throwing 
temptation  in  his  path,  which  is  the  charge  which  has 
been  so  frequently  brought  against  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour. In  any  case,  there  is  not  a  shred  of  evidence  to 
prove  that  she  was  responsible  for  the  presence  at  the 
Parc-aux-Cerfs  of  even  one  of  the  young  women  who 
were  brought  there  from  time  to  time ;  and  Madame  du 
Hausset  implicitly  denies  that  her  mistress  had  any  deal- 
ings whatever  with  its  inmates.  The  fact  that  Lebel, 
the  King's  valet-de-chambre^  "who  had  the  management 
of  these  affairs,"  was  well  known  to  be  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  the  knowledge 

1   Me  moires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.  1825)  p.  91  et  seq. 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

that  on  at  least  one  occasion  the  attractions  of  the  house 
in  the  Rue  Saint-Mederic  had  saved  Louis  from  falling  a 
victim  to  the  machinations  of  some  titled  dame,  coupled 
with  the  readiness  of  both  the  courtiers  of  Versailles  and 
the  people  of  Paris  to  believe  anything  to  the  detriment 
of  the  woman  they  so  much  feared  and  hated,  are  in  a 
large  measure  responsible  for  an  accusation,  which  would 
appear  to  be  almost  as  devoid  of  foundation  as  that  of 
her  having  poisoned  Madame  de  Choiseul-Romanet. 


224 


CHAPTER   XII 

The  sermons  of  Father  GrifFet — Prayers  for  the  King's  con- 
version— Change  in  Madame  de  Pompadour's  relations  with 
Louis  XV. — The  advantages  of  platonic  friendship — The 
favourite  desires  to  be  reconciled  with  the  Church — Father 
Sacy  becomes  her  confessor — Edifying  behaviour  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour — Impressions  of  the  Court — Opinion  of  the 
Jesuits — Her  return  to  her  husband  the  price  of  absolution — 
Chagrin  of  the  marchioness — The  Queen  refuses  her  the  post 
of  dame  du  pala'ts — Madame  de  Pompadour's  letter  to  her 
husband — His  reply — Madame  de  Pompadour  obtains  absolu- 
tion— And  becomes  dams  du  pala'ts — Her  letter  to  the  Pope. 

^^  March  ii,  175  i. — Devotion  is  all  the  talk  of  the 
Court,  which  follows  with  ardour  the  sermons  of  Father 
GrifFet,  who  thunders  against  the  morals  in  fashion.  In 
his  Lenten  sermon,  preached  at  Versailles,  he  chose  for 
his  text  the  woman  taken  in  adultery." 

"  March  20. — The  King  has  had  some  devotional 
conferences  with  Father  Griffet,  the  Jesuit  who  is 
preaching  the  Lenten  sermons  at  Versailles ;  this  makes 
the  marchioness  tremble." 

*'  March  24. — Great  noise  about  some  oremus  which 
have  been  printed  to  be  said  at  Saint-Roch  during  Lent. 
I  have  seen  the  prayers ;  they  ask  God  positively  for  the 
conversion  of  the  King,  for  whom  Heaven  has  per- 
formed so  many  miracles,  but  who  has  shown  himself 
so  ungrateful  to  God  by  his  scandalous  amours.     The 

225  p 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

reason  why  the  King  did  not  attend  Father  GrifFet*s 
last  discourse  was  because  it  was  the  Jesuit's  intention 
to  preach  about  the  duties  of  each  class — a  sermon  in 
which  he  sharply  attacked  the  loves  of  the  King  and  the 
favourite." 

''''March  28. — The  Jesuits  have  fifteen  masses  said 
every  morning  for  the  conversion  of  the  King,  and  boast 
of  it." 

From  which  observations  of  the  omniscient  d'Argenson 
it  will  be  seen  that,  with  whatever  complaisance  the 
Court  may  have  come  to  regard  the  influence  of  the 
favourite,  the  Church,  and  particularly  the  Jesuits,  was 
by  no  means  disposed  to  abandon  the  struggle. 

Now,  whether  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  really 
conscience  -  stricken,  as  Mademoiselle  de  La  Valliere, 
Madame  de  Montespan,  and  Madame  de  Mailly  had 
been  before  her  —  which  seems  doubtful  —  or  whether 
she  had  decided,  foreseeing  that  the  day  could  not  be 
far  distant  when  she  would  cease  to  find  favour  in 
the  eyes  of  the  lover  as  distinct  from  the  friend,  that 
it  would  be  a  wise  step  to  anticipate  the  inevitable, 
and,  by  so  doing,  deprive  her  most  implacable  foe,  the 
Church,  of  all  excuse  for  attacking  her, — which  is  far 
more  probable, — it  is  certain  that  in  the  course  of  the 
year  1752  it  began  to  be  remarked  by  the  intimates 
of  the  King  and  the  marchioness  that  a  change  had 
taken  place  in  their  bearing  towards  each  other,  and  that 
there  was  no  longer  anything  but  friendship  between 
them.^ 

1  "  There  is  no  longer  anything  but  friendship  between  them,"  writes 
d'Argenson  in  1753  ;  "so  she  has  had  executed  for  Bellevue  a  statue 
where  she  is  represented  as  the  Goddess  of  Friendship."  This  statue, 
which  was  executed  by  Pigalle,  seems  to  have  taken  the  place  of  the 

226 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

One  would  naturally  have  supposed  that  the  termina- 
tion of  their  intrigue  would  have  been  followed  by  the 
decline  of  the  lady's  influence  over  the  monarch.  Such 
was  very  far  from  being  the  case.  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's power  had  rested  in  but  small  part  on  her  physical 
attractions.  Her  aim  had  been  to  captivate  the  mind 
rather  than  the  senses  of  the  King,  and  in  this  she  had 
been  eminently  successful.  Love  might  indeed  be  dead ; 
but  habit — the  habit  that  Louis  had  contracted  of  turn- 
ing to  her  for  amusement  when  he  was  bored,  for  advice 
when  he  was  in  perplexity,  for  consolation  when  matters 
were  going  wrong — remained  as  potent  as  ever,  and 
rendered  her  empire  immovable. 

Nor  was  the  new  role  which  she  aspired  to  play  with- 
out its  advantages.  No  longer  dependent  upon  the 
caprices  of  passion,  she  would  be  in  a  position  to  realise 
the  political  ambitions  which  she  had  always  cherished, 
even  when  encouraging  Louis  to  think  lightly  of  the 
duties  of  sovereignty,  and  affecting  to  treat  public  affairs 
with  contempt.  The  friend  —  the  intelligent,  clear- 
headed, disinterested  friend — without  consulting  whom 
the   King   never  ventured  to   take  any  important  step, 

Amour,  by  the  same  sculptor,  which  we  have  already  spoken  of.  The 
Due  de  Luynes  relates  that  when  the  Queen  visited  Bellevue  in  the 
spring  of  1758,  her  attention  was  directed  to  it  by  the  gardener  wirh 
these  words;  "This  used  to  be  the  grove  of  Love,  now  it  is  that  of 
Friendship." 

This  statue  is  not  only  a  most  exquisite  piece  of  workmanship,  but  is 
believed  to  bear  a  most  perfect  resembl.ince  to  the  marchioness,  who, 
clad  in  flowing  draperies,  stands  with  her  right  hand  pressed  upon  her 
heart,  and  the  left  extended,  as  if  in  friendly  greeting.  It  was  purchased 
in  1786  by  "Philippe  Egalite,"  and,  after  belonging  to  various  owners, 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  Marquis  of  Hertford,  who  bequeathed  it, 
along  with  his  other  art  treasures,  to  Sir  Richard  Wallace. 

227 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

would  command  respect  in  quarters  where  the  mistress 
had  aroused  nothing  but  derision  and  disdain ;  and  she 
already  saw  herself  the  power  behind  the  throne,  medi- 
ating between  the  contending  parties  in  the  Council, 
between  the  Parliament  and  the  clergy,  and  between 
Louis  and  the  Royal  Family,  and  even  controlling  and 
directing  the  foreign  policy  of  France, 

But,  in  order  to  play  this  role  and  attain  to  this 
authority,  it  was  essential  that  she  should  first  rehabili- 
tate her  reputation,  become  reconciled  to  the  Church, 
and  receive  its  absolution.  Accordingly,  she  began  to 
look  about  her  for  an  accommodating  confessor,  who 
might  be  disposed  to  grant  her  absolution  on  easy  terms, 
and  fixed  her  eyes  upon  a  certain  Jesuit,  one  Father  Sacy, 
*'  a  man  well  versed  in  all  the  trickeries  of  repentance," 
whom  she  had  known  in  her  obscure  and  more  reputable 
days,  and  whom  she  judged  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
bend  to  her  will.  Him  she  summoned  to  ghostly  con- 
sultation, and  the  Jesuit  came  and  used  every  endeavour 
"  to  place  God  within  reach  of  the  marchioness,  and 
reconcile  the  things  of  the.  world  with  those  of  Heaven," 

The  lady  on  her  part  was  not  backward  in  showing 
her  appreciation  of  the  good  Father's  efforts  for  her 
salvation.  We  read  that  she  is  spending  great  part  of 
the  day  in  prayer ;  that  she  even  gets  up  in  the  middle 
of  the  night  to  perform  her  devotions  ;  that  she  attends 
mass  with  commendable  regularity ;  that  she  fasts,  and 
that  she  has  had  the  passage  between  her  apartments  and 
those  of  the  King  blocked  up,^ 

All  this,  of  course,  aroused  much  comment  at  Court, 
and  the  general  opinion   seems  to   have   been   that   the 

1  Memo'tres  du  Due  de  LuyneSy  xv.  324.  Memoires  du  Marquis 
d ' Argenson,  iv.  passim. 

228 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

marchioness  was  sincere  in  her  professions  of  penitence. 
"  Madame  de  Pompadour,"  writes  the  Due  de  Luynes, 
"  certainly  has  the  appearance  of  acting  in  good  faith, 
and  says  herself  that  she  does  not  feel  that  inclination 
and  taste  for  devotion  that  she  would  desire  to  have, 
but  that  that  is  a  favour  which  she  hopes  to  obtain  by 
fervent  prayer.  ...  It  only  remains  to  hope  that  the 
ardour  which  has  characterised  her  first  religious  exercises 
will  continue,  and  that  it  will  make  a  lasting  impression 
upon  the  mind  of  the  King."  And  the  duke  sorrowfully 
adds,  "  But  the  time  has  not  yet  arrived  ;  mistresses  con- 
tinue to  come  and  go."  ^ 

Now  it  would  appear  that  the  excellent  Father  Sacy, 
in  his  anxiety  to  make  so  distinguished  a  convert,  had 
undertaken  the  task  without  consulting  his  superiors, 
who  were  anything  but  delighted  when  they  discovered 
what  was  going  on.  The  Jesuit  leaders  hated  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  partly  because  of  her  sympathy  with  the 
philosophers,  and  partly  because  they  were  aware  that  as 
long  as  she  remained  the  King's  mistress,  so  long  would 
their  chance  of  obtaining  influence  over  the  superstitious 
Louis  and  using  that  influence  to  crush  their  enemies, 
the  Jansenists,  be  hopeless.  They  would,  therefore, 
have  been  willing  enough  to  facilitate  her  return  to  the 
fold,  hoping  that  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  King 
would  follow  such  an  edifying  example,  and  possibly 
signalise  his  conversion  by  some  repressive  measures 
against  the  followers  of  Jansenius,^  had  they  not  been 
exceedingly    sceptical    as  to    the  sincerity  of  the  lady's 

1   Memo'ires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  xv.  324. 

-  "The  Jansenists  say,"  writes  d'Argenson,  "that  if  the  King 
becomes  devout,  he  will  persecute  them  as  they  were  persecuted  in  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV." 

229 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

repentance.  They  foresaw  that,  unless  the  conditions 
imposed  by  Sacy  were  such  as  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to 
the  contrition  of  the  penitent,  and  at  the  same  time 
deprive  her  of  all  political  power  in  the  future,  they 
would  not  only  be  giving  great  offence  to  the  Dauphin 
and  his  devout  friends,  over  whom  their  influence  had 
hitherto  been  supreme,  but  who  were  already  crying  out 
against  the  unheard-of  leniency  of  Father  Sacy,  who 
was  permitting  his  convert  to  use  rouge  and  indulge  in 
other  worldly  practices,  but  would  actually  be  placing  a 
weapon  in  the  favourite's  hands  which  might  render  her 
more  formidable  than  ever.'^ 

Under  these  circumstances,  they  decided  to  instruct 
Sacy  to  inform  the  marchioness  that  the  fact  of  her  living 
at  Court  apart  from  her  husband  constituted  a  public 
scandal  which  rendered  absolution  impossible.  If  she 
desired  to  be  reconciled  to  the  Church,  there  was  no 
alternative  open  to  her  but  to  leave  Versailles  and  return 
to  her  husband.  Such  a  proposition  was,  as  may  be 
imagined,  not  at  all  to  the  taste  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  who  had  not  the  least  intention  of  quitting 
her  post.  She  dismissed  the  confessor  in  anger,  and 
from  that  time  we  may  date  her  hostility  to  the  Jesuits, 
which  was  to  have  no  small  share  in  bringing  about  their 
banishment  from  France. 

This  rebuff  was  all  the  more  galling  to  the  favourite 

1  Bernis  says  that  soon  after  Madame  de  Pompadour  became  the 
King's  mistress,  she  endeavoured,  on  the  advice  of  a  prudent  friend 
(presumably  himself),  to  conciliate  the  Jesuits,  who  would  be  able  to 
influence  the  clergy  in  her  favour ;  but  that  the  Fathers  refused  to 
"sign  a  treaty  with  her,"  because  they  feared  that  by  so  doing  they 
would  offend  the  Dauphin,  upon  whose  accession  to  the  throne  they  were 
building  great  hopes.  They  preferred  to  sacrifice  present  security  to 
future  advantage. 

230 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

as,  believing  herself  certain  to  triumph  over  the  scruples  of 
Father  Sacy  and  desirous  of  having  a  regular  standing  at 
Court,  she  had  some  little  time  before  applied  for  the  post 
of  dame  du  palais  to  the  Queen.  To  her  request,  which 
was  made  through  the  King  himself,  Marie  Leczinska 
demurred,  remarking  that  it  was  scarcely  decent  to  give 
such  a  post  to  a  woman  "  fraudulently  separated  from 
her  husband."  She  added  that  his  Majesty  might  order 
what  he  liked  and  that  she  would  regard  it  as  her  duty 
to  obey  him ;  but  that  she  sincerely  hoped  that  he  would 
in  this  instance  have  too  much  regard  for  the  Royal 
Family  to  put  such  an  affront  upon  it,  as  the  place  in 
question  was  too  delicate  a  one  to  be  filled  by  a  lady 
labouring  under  excommunication,  and  who  did  not 
even  dare  to  present  herself  at  the  communion-table  at 
Easter.  Such  a  line  of  argument  was,  of  course,  un- 
answerable, and  Louis  did  not  attempt  to  press  the 
matter. 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  however,  was  nothing  if  not 
a  woman  of  resource,  and,  as  such,  was  not  one  to  allow 
herself  to  be  easily  foiled.  The  Jesuits  had  given  her  a 
very  instructive  lesson  in  their  own  peculiar  methods  of 
warfare.  She  resolved  to  profit  by  it  and  to  turn  their 
weapons  against  themselves.  She,  accordingly,  sat  down 
and  indited  a  long  letter  to  her  husband,  in  which  she 
informed  M.  d'Etioles  that  she  had  wept  for  the  wrong 
she  had  done  him  and  now  sincerely  repented  of  all  the 
irregularities  of  her  life.  "  I  recognise  my  crime,"  she 
concludes,  *'  and  I  desire  to  make  reparation  for  it. 
Already  the  substance  of  my  sin  has  ceased,  and  it  only 
remains  to  put  an  end  to  the  appearance  of  it — a  consum- 
mation which  I  ardently  desire.  I  am  resolved  by  my 
future  conduct  to  make  atonement  for  my  past  behaviour. 

231 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Take  me  back  ;  you  will  find  me  desirous  only  of  edify- 
ing the  world  by  the  harmony  in  which  I  shall  live  with 

you,  as  much  as  I  have  scandalised  it  by  separating  from 

"  1 
you. 

But,  before  writing  this  touching  epistle,  she  had  sent 
the  Prince  de  Soubise,  one  of  the  most  obsequious  of 
her  courtiers,  to  Paris,  to  inform  M,  d'Etioles  that 
his  wife  in  a  fit  of  penitence  had  announced  her  in- 
tention of  writing  him  a  letter  entreating  him  to 
receive  her  back,  and  to  warn  him  as  a  friend  not  to 
take  her  at  her  word,  on  pain  of  incurring  the  King's 
displeasure.^ 

Now  M.  d'Etioles  had  long  since  ceased  to  regret  his 
faithless  wife  and  had  not  the  slightest  desire  to  resume 
their  former  relations.  He  had  found  consolation,  as 
we  have  mentioned,  in  the  society  of  a  Mademoiselle 
Rem,  formerly  a  danseuse  at  the  Opera,  with  whom  he 
had  become  so  infatuated  that  when,  at  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  suggestion,  with  the  object  of  getting  him 
away  from  Paris  and  so  mitigating  scandal,  he  had  been 
offered  the  post  of  Ambassador  to  the  Porte,  he  had 
declined,  as  its  acceptance  would  have  involved  separa- 
tion from  his  beloved.  Soubise,  accordingly,  found 
him  perfectly  resigned  to  the  wishes  of  the  King,  and 
in  his  reply  to  his  wife's  letter,  while  according  her  a  full 
pardon,  he  firmly  refused  to  receive  her  back  into  his 
bosom. 

^  Soulavie's  Memoires  htstorlques  et  anecdotes  pendant  la  faveur  de 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  90. 

2  The  Due  de  Luynes  says  that  Madame  de  Pompadour,  fearing  that 
the  intercession  of  Soubise  might  not  be  sufficient,  sent  Machault  to 
warn  her  husband  not  to  send  "  too  embarrassing  an  answer." 


232 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

r 

M.  Lenormant  d'Etioles  to  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

"Paris,  Feb.  6,  1756. 

"  I  have  received,  madame,  the  letter  in  which  you 
inform  me  of  your  intention  to  return  to  me  and  your 
determination  to  surrender  yourself  to  God.  I  can- 
not but  be  edified  by  such  a  resolution.  I  can  well 
understand  that  it  would  be  very  painful  for  you  to 
appear  before  me,  and  you  can  easily  judge  that  my 
feelings  would  be  the  sam.e.  Your  presence  can  only 
serve  to  intensify  painful  memories.  Thus,  the  only 
course  open  to  us  is  to  live  apart.  Whatever  cause 
for  dissatisfaction  you  have  given  me,  I  am  willing  to 
believe  that  you  are  jealous  for  my  honour,  and  I  should 
regard  it  as  compromised  were  I  to  receive  you  in  my 
house  and  live  with  you  as  my  wife.  You  are  yourself 
aware  that  time  can  effect  no  change  in  what  honour 
prescribes. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  madame,  your  very  humble 
and  very  obedient  servant,  Lenormant. 


"  1 


This  adroit  manoeuvre  completely  turned  the  tables 
on  both  the  Jesuits  and  the  Queen.  The  former  had 
refused  the  marchioness  absolution,  unless  she  returned 
to  her  husband  ;  the  latter  the  post  of  dame  du  palais^ 
because  she  had  not  received  absolution.  She  had  now 
done  all  in  her  power  to  comply  with  the  directions 
of  her  spiritual  adviser ;  the  onus  of  her  failure  rested 
upon  her  husband's  shoulders,  not  upon  hers.  Madame 
de  Pompadour  soon    found  a  priest — not  a  Jesuit  this 

^  Part'tcularltes  relatives  a  P Hlstoire  de  Madame  de  Pompadour,  Cabinet 
historique,  September  1880. 

233 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

time — willing  to  reconcile  her  with  the  Church,  and 
the  same  day  the  Queen  received  a  letter  from  the 
King,  containing  a  peremptory  order  to  nominate  the 
ex-mistress  a  supernumerary  dame  du  palais^  which  meant 
that,  while  she  would  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  post, 
she  would  be  excused  from  discharging  its  duties,  except 
upon  rare  occasions. 

"  I  have  a  King  in  Heaven,  who  gives  me  the  strength 
to  endure  my  calamities,  and  a  King  on  earth,  whom  I 
shall  always  obey,"  was  the  poor  Queen's  dignified  reply, 
and  on  February  8,  1756,  Madame  de  Pompadour  was 
formally  presented  by  the  austere  Duchesse  de  Luynes, 
whom  she  had  induced  to  believe  that  she  had  only 
sought  the  post  under  the  advice  of  her  confessor,  and 
attended  her  Majesty  at  supper  in  a  magnificent  toilette. 

Some  time  afterwards,  with  the  twofold  object  of  re- 
moving any  misapprehension  under  which  the  Head  of 
the  Church  might  be  as  to  the  position  which  she  now 
occupied  with  regard  to  his  Most  Christian  Majesty,  and 
of  striking  a  blow  at  the  Order  which  had  endeavoured 
to  thwart  her,  Madame  de  Pompadour  sent  to  the  Pope, 
by  a  trusted  agent,  the  following  letter  : — 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 

"  Early  in  the  year  1752,  determined  by  motives, 
which  it  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  enumerate, 
to  henceforth  retain  for  the  King  nothing  but  senti- 
ments of  gratitude  and  the  purest  affection,  I  informed 
his  Majesty  of  my  resolution,  at  the  same  time  en- 
treating him  to  order  the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  to 
meet  in  consultation,  and  to  send  word  to  his  con- 
fessor to  confer  with  others,  to  the  end  that  some  means 

234 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

might  be  devised  whereby,  such  being  his  wish,  I  might 
be  allowed  to  remain  near  his  person,  without  running 
the  risk,  of  being  suspected  of  a  sin  of  which  I  was 
no  longer  guilty.  The  King,  knowing  my  character, 
felt  that  there  was  no  hope  of  my  repenting  of  my 
resolution,  and  complied  with  my  wishes.  He  made 
the  doctors  meet  in  consultation,  and  wrote  to  Father 
Perusseau,  who  demanded  of  him  a  complete  separation. 
The  King  replied  that  he  would  by  no  means  consent  to 
such  a  proposal ;  that  it  was  not  for  his  own  sake  that 
he  wished  an  arrangement  to  be  made  which  should 
leave  the  public  no  grounds  for  suspicion,  but  for  my 
satisfaction  alone ;  that  I  was  necessary  to  his  happiness, 
to  the  proper  conduct  of  his  affairs ;  that  I  was  the  only 
person  who  dared  to  tell  him  the  truth,  so  useful  to 
kings,  &c.  The  good  Father,  in  the  hope  of  shaking 
the  King's  determination,  invariably  gave  the  same 
reply.  The  doctors  (of  the  Sorbonne)  would  have  re- 
turned answers  which  would  have  made  an  arrangement 
possible,  but  the  Jesuits  refused  their  consent.  I  spoke 
at  that  time  to  several  persons  who  were  anxious  for 
the  welfare  of  the  King  and  religion,  and  warned  them 
that  if  Father  Perusseau  refrained  from  putting  a  check 
upon  the  King  by  admitting  him  to  the  sacraments, 
he  would  abandon  himself  to  a  mode  of  life  which  would 
scandalise  every  one.^  I  failed  in  my  endeavours  to 
persuade  them,  and  it  was  seen  very  shortly  afterwards 
that  I  had  not  been  mistaken.  Then,  after  long  re- 
flections on  the  calamities  which  had  pursued  me,  even 
at  the  summit  of  my  fortunes,^  the  certainty  that  the 

1  This  refers  to  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs  and  other  scandals,  for  which  she 
is  here  endeavouring  to  make  the  Jesuits  responsible. 

2  The  deaths  of  her  mother,  father,  and  her  little  daughter,  Alexandrine. 

^35 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

good  things  of  this  world  would  not  bring  happiness,  see- 
ing that  I  had  lacked  none  of  them  and  yet  had  failed  to 
attain  it ;  my  indifference  to  the  diversions  which  had 
formerly  afforded  me  most  pleasure,  all  contributed  to 
inspire  me  with  the  belief  that  there  is  no  happiness 
save  in  God.  I  addressed  myself  to  Father  Sacy  as  to 
a  man  deeply  impressed  with  that  truth ;  I  opened  my 
whole  soul  to  him ;  he  privately  put  my  sincerity  to  the 
proof  from  the  month  of  September  until  the  end  of 
January  1756.  He  then  proposed  that  I  should  write  a 
letter  to  my  husband,  of  which  I  possess  the  draft  that 
he  himself  wrote  out.  My  husband  refused  to  see  me 
again.  The  Father  made  me  apply  for  a  post  in  the 
Queen's  Household,  for  the  sake  of  appearances;  he 
made  me  remove  the  staircase  which  gave  admission 
to  my  apartments,  and  the  King  no  longer  entered 
except  through  the  ordinary  ante-chamber ;  in  short,  he 
prescribed  for  me  a  rule  of  conduct,  which  I  observed 
implicitly.  These  changes  made  a  great  stir  both  at 
Court  and  in  the  town.  The  busybodies  of  every  class 
took  upon  themselves  to  interfere.  Father  Sacy  was 
attacked,  and  informed  me  that  he  should  refuse  me 
the  sacraments  so  long  as  I  remained  at  Court.  I  re- 
presented to  him  all  the  tests  which  he  had  imposed 
upon  me,  the  different  character  which  my  relation 
with  the  King  had  assumed,  according  to  his  own  ad- 
mission. He  concluded  by  informing  me  that  people 
had  mocked  at  the  King's  confessor  when  the  Comte 
de  Toulouse^  was  brought  into  the  world,  and  he  had 
no  desire  to  find  himself  in  a  similar  predicament.  I 
had  no  answer  to  make  to  such  a  line  of  reasoning,  and 
when,  urged  on  by  the  desire   of  fulfilling   my  duties, 

1  Louis  XIV. 's  son  by  Madame  de  Montespan. 
236 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

I  had  exhausted  every  argument  that  I  thought  most 
likely  to  convince  him  that  I  was  actuated  by  religious, 
and  not  by  intriguing,  motives,  I  saw  him  no  more. 
The  abominable  5th  of  January^  arrived,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  same  intrigues  as  in  the  previous  year. 
The  King  did  everything  in  his  power  to  convince 
Father  Desmarets  ^  of  the  sincerity  of  his  religion.  The 
same  motives  were  at  work  ;  the  answer  was  the  same  ; 
and  the  King,  who  ardently  desired  to  fulfil  his  Christian 
duties,  was  deprived  of  them,  and  fell  back,  after  a  brief 
interval,  into  the  same  errors,  from  which  he  might  have 
been  rescued  had  they  acted  in  good  faith. 

"  In  spite  of  the  extreme  patience  which  I  had  shown 
for  eighteen  months  under  Father  Sacy,  my  heart  was, 
nevertheless,  torn  by  my  condition ;  and  I  took  counsel 
with  an  honest  man  in  whom  I  had  confidence.  He  was 
touched,  and  cast  about  him  for  some  means  of  putting 
an  end  to  my  unhappiness.  An  abb6,  one  of  his  friends, 
as  learned  as  he  was  intelligent,  explained  my  position 
to  a  man,  like  himself  fully  competent  to  give  an  opinion 
upon  it.  Both  decided  that  my  conduct  did  not  merit  the 
penance  which  they  would  have  compelled  me  to  undergo. 
-In  consequence,  my  confessor,  after  a  fresh  period  of 
probation,  put  an  end  to  the  injustice  by  permitting 
me  to  approach  the  sacraments ;  and,  though  I  feel 
in  secret  some  pain  that  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  my 
guard  lest  my  confessor  should  give  heed  to  the  atrocious 
calumnies  which  are  circulated  about  me,  it  is  a  great 
consolation  for  my  soul."  ^ 

1  The  attempted  assassination  of  Louis  XV.  by  Damiens. 

2  Father  Perusseau  had  died  in    1753;   Father   Desmarets  had  suc- 
ceeded him  as  confessor  to  the  King. 

^  Clement  XIV.  et  les  J e suites,  p.  104. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

Madame  de  Pompadour  and  men  of  letters — Her  protection  of 
them  not  entirely  disinterested  —  Her  relations  with  Voltaire 
—  Crebillon  ^i?rif — Louis  de  Boissy — Rousseau  —  BufFon  — 
Montesquieu — Marmontel — The  Abbe  Le  Blanc  and  Piron 
— Duclos — Diderot  and  d'Alembert — The  Encyclopedic  brought 
in  at  a  supper  party  at  Trianon — Madame  de  Pompadour's 
library — The  favourite  orders  an  edition  of  Corneille's  Rodogune 
to  be  printed  for  her. 

In  spite  of  the  intoxication  of  power  and  the  cares 
of  State,  Madame  de  Pompadour  did  not  forget 
that  some  of  the  happiest  days  of  her  youth  had 
been  spent  in  the  society  of  men  of  letters,  and,  what- 
ever exception  may  be  taken  to  her  influence  in  other 
directions,  literature  has  every  reason  to  cherish  her 
memory. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  patronage 
and  protection  of  a  woman  in  the  position  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances under  which  literary  work  was  carried  on  at 
this  period.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  profession  of  letters  in  France  was  not  only  so  un- 
remunerative,  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  wholesale 
piracy  which  prevailed,  that  it  was  difficult  for  even  a 
writer  of  established  reputation  to  earn  a  modest  com- 

238 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

petence,^  but  it  was  hampered  by  all  kinds  of  irritating 
restrictions.  In  theory  nothing  was  supposed  to  be 
published  until  it  had  been  approved  by  the  censor,  and 
though,  of  course,  this  regulation  was  constantly  evaded, 
the  author  did  so  at  his  peril.  Any  book  which  reflected 
upon  the  established  order  of  things  in  Church  or  State, 
which  presumed  to  criticise  any  highly  placed  official  or 
member  of  the  Court,  or  which,  though  perfectly  unob- 
jectionable in  itself,  happened  to  emanate  from  some 
person  who  was  out  of  favour  with  the  authorities,  was 
liable  to  be  seized  and  confiscated,  while  its  author  not 
infrequently  found  himself  in  Vincennes  or  the  Bastille.^ 
Nor  was  the  activity  of  the  police  by  any  means  confined 
to  works  which  had  seen  the  light  of  day.  Whenever 
they  scented  game — to  borrow  the  expressive  phrase  of  a 
contemporary  writer — they  thought  nothing  of  invading 
the  suspected  writer's  house  and  carrying  off  any  manu- 
scripts which  they  chanced  to  find  there.  One  day 
during  Diderot's  absence  from  home,  his  daughter  found 
a  police  officer  in  the  philosopher's  study  engaged  in 
ransacking  his  desk.  Presently  he  came  across  a  bulky 
manuscript,  and  coolly  remarking,  "  This  is  what  I  am 
looking  for,"  stuffed  it  into  his  pocket  and  walked  off. 
Poor  Diderot  thought  himself  very  fortunate  when,  some 
years  later,  his  friend  Malesherbes  being  Director  of  the 
Press,  his  manuscript  was  returned  to  him.     Under  such 

1  In  1745  Diderot  for  a  translation  of  Stanyan's  "  History  of  Greece  " 
in  three  volumes  was  only  paid  1 20  crowns.  Mr.  Morley  computes  that 
the  remuneration  he  received  for  his  work  upon  the  *'  Encyclopedia  "  did 
not  exceed  _;^400  a  year  in  money  of  to-day. 

2  The  booksellers  seems  to  have  been  much  more  severely  punished. 
We  read  of  an  unfortunate  man  who  for  selling  a  prohibited  work  was 
branded,  whipped,  and  sent  to  the  galleys  for  five  years. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

conditions,  it  is,  indeed,  amazing,  not  that  that  epoch 
should  have  produced  a  succession  of  literary  giants  of 
which  France  had  never  before  and  probably  never  will 
again  behold  the  like,  but  that  any  man  of  genius  should 
have  been  found  willing  to  consecrate  his  talents  to  a  ji 

calling  at  once  so  unremunerative  and  so  fruitful  in 
humiliation  and  disappointment. 

It  was  not  only  her  taste  for  literature  and  for  the 
society  of  men  of  letters  which  led  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour to  surround  herself  with  poets  and  historians  and 
philosophers,  to  pension  them,  to  lodge  them  in  the  royal 
palaces,  to  save  them  from  the  Bastille,  to  open  the  way 
for  them  to  the  Academy ;  she  had  another  and  less  dis- 
interested motive  for  the  favours  she  so  freely  bestowed: 
she  needed  their  help  as  they  needed  hers.  She  was 
ambitious  to  play  a  great  part — a  part  beside  which  that 
played  by  the  Sorels  and  d'Estrees  and  Maintenons 
should  seem  small  and  insignificant  indeed  ;  to  be  spoken 
of  by  future  generations  as  men  spoke  of  Sully,  of  Riche- 
lieu, and  of  Mazarin,  and  she  was  intelligent  enough  to 
perceive  that  it  is  the  pen,  and  the  pen  alone,  which 
makes  and  unmakes  reputations. 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  first  literary  protege  was 
Voltaire — Voltaire  who  had  sung  her  praises  so  charm- 
ingly and  so  opportunely  in  the  first  flush  of  her  success 
in  the  summer  of  1745,  and  had  confirmed  the  good 
impression  he  had  then  created  by  many  other  verses  in 
the  same  strain.  All  this  flattery  deserved  some  recog- 
nition, and,  in  due  time,  it  came  in  the  shape  of  a  com- 
mission from  the  favourite  to  write  a  farce  in  celebration 
of  the  Dauphin's  second  marriage.  This  production, 
La  Princesse  de  Navarre^  was  set  to  music  by  Rameau 
and  proved  a  stepping-stone  to  the  posts  of  Historio- 

240 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

grapher  of  France  and  Gentleman-in-ordinary  of  the 
Bedchamber,  with  permission  to  sell  the  latter  office 
while  retaining  the  title  and  privileges.^  Moreover,  she 
supported  him  vigorously  in  his  candidature  for  the 
Academy,  and  the  poet,  having  disarmed  the  Bishop 
of  Mirepoix  and  other  ecclesiastical  adversaries  by 
inducing  the  Pope  to  accept  the  dedication  of  his 
Mahomet^  and  by  publicly  announcing,  in  a  letter  to 
Father  Latour,  the  head  of  his  old  college  of  Louis-le- 
Grand,  his  affection  for  religion  and  his  esteem  for  the 
Jesuits,  they  triumphed,  and  Voltaire  was  admitted  of 
the  forty.^ 

The  new  Academician  thanked   his   patroness  in  the 
way  most  likely  to  be  acceptable  to  her : — 

"  Ainsi  done  vous  reunissez 
Tous  les  arts,  tous  les  goflts,  tous  les  talents  de  plaire ; 

Pompadour,  vous  embellissez 

La  cour,  le  Parnasse  et  Cyth^re. 
Charme  de  tous  les  coeurs,  tresor  d'un  seul  mortel 

Qu'un  sort  si  beau  soit  eternel !  " 

Voltaire,  it  may  be  observed,  was  under  no  delusion  as 
to  the  merits  of  his  Princes se  de  Navarre^  and,  while  thus 
flattering  Madame  de  Pompadour,  he  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  of  poking  fun  at  himself  and,  at  the  same 
time,  of  reproaching  Louis  XV,  for  having  ignored  his 
earlier  works,  so  much  more  worthy  of  recognition  than 
this  *'  farce  of  the  fair  "  : — 

**  Mon  Henri  Quatre  et  ma  Zaire 
Et  mon  Americaine  Al^'ire, 


1  There  was  a  salary  of  2000  livres  attached  to  the  office  of  Historio- 
grapher, and  Voltaire  is  believed  to  have  sold  his  post  in  the  Bedchamber 
for  a  considerable  sum. 

2  Morley's  "  Voltaire,"  p.  1 59. 

241  ft 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Ne  m'ont  valu  jamais  un  seul  regard  du  roi. 
J'avais  mille  ennemis  avec  tr^s  peu  de  gloire. 
Les  honneurs  et  les  biens  pleuvent  enfin  sur  moi 
Pour  une  farce  de  la  foire."  ^ 

His  patroness,  however,  persuaded  him  to  take  a 
nobler  revenge — to  compose  a  play  in  eulogy  of  the 
King ;  and  he  accordingly  wrote  Le  Temple  de  la  Gloire^ 
in  which  Louis  was  represented  under  the  guise  of 
Trajan.  This  piece  met  with  a  good  deal  of  adverse 
criticism,  as  did  the  conduct  of  its  author,  who,  finding 
himself  at  the  conclusion  of  the  performance  near  the 
King,  took  the  liberty  of  asking,  "  Is  Trajan  satisfied  ? " 
Trajan,  surprised  and  indignant  that  any  one  should  1 
have  the  impertinence  to  interrogate  him,  vouchsafed 
no  reply. 

But,  alas  !  the  Court  sun  soon  ceased  to  shine.  For 
this  several  reasons  have  been  assigned.  Some  say  that 
the  favourite  took  offence  at  an  epigram  which  Voltaire 
perpetrated  at  her  dinner-table,  and  which  was  repre- 
sented by  other  flatterers,  who  were  jealous  of  the  poet, 
as  a  piece  of  extreme  impertinence.  Others  maintain 
that  the  pretty  lines  in  which  Voltaire,  addressing 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  says  of  her  and  Louis  XV. : — 

"  Soyez  tous  deux  sans  ennemis 
Et  tous  gardez  vos  conquetes  " — 

•^  The  following  is  a  contemporary  translation  : — 

"  My  Henr'iade  and  my  Zaire^ 
My  fair  American  Ah'ire, 
Were  all  unnoticed  by  the  King  ; 
I'd  many  foes  and  very  little  fame. 
Honours  and  wealth  now  plenteous  spring 
From  a  foolish  thing, 
A  farce  that  scarce  deserves  a  name." 
242 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

gave  great  oiFence  to  the  King's  daughters,  who  per- 
suaded their  royal  father  that  a  comparison  between 
his  military  successes  and  the  marchioness's  conquest  of 
his  heart  was  most  indecorous.  A  more  probable  ex- 
planation is  that  Voltaire  was  at  best  but  a  poor  courtier ; 
that  his  favour  in  high  places  had  exasperated  his  enemies 
without  procuring  him  any  real  friends  ;  and  that  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world, 
was  powerless  to  protect  him,  save  at  considerable  risk  to 
herself. 

But,  whatever  the  true  reason  may  have  been,  we  find 
the  marchioness,  in  1748,  interesting  herself  in  Voltaire's 
rival,  the  elder  Crebillon,  a  preference  which  so  irritated 
the  author  of  Mahomet  that  he  retired  in  high  dudgeon 
to  Cirey,  to  be  consoled  by  the  divine  Emily.  For  several 
years  after  this  Voltaire  seems  to  have  cherished  the  hope 
of  a  renewal  of  Court  favour,  and  in  1750,  when  he  went 
to  Berlin,  was  charged  by  the  favourite  to  convey  her 
compliments  to  Frederick  the  Great,  who,  as  every  one 
knows,  received  them  with  the  famous  "  Je  ne  la  connais 
pas " — rash  words  which  he  lived  to  regret.  As  time 
went  on,  however,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  made  no 
effort  to  induce  him  to  return  to  Court,  Voltaire  changed 
his  tone,  and  in  that  most  odious  burlesque  of  a  most 
heroic  theme,  La  Pucelle^  we  find  that  the  "divine 
d'Etioles "  and  the  *'  true  and  tender  Pompadour "  has 
become  a  "lucky  grisette^''  and  other  things,  which  we 
forbear  to  mention.-^ 

However,  with  that  strange  inconsistency  in  small 
matters,  which  was  in  such  marked  contrast  to  the  stead- 

1  The  poet  subsequently  repudiated  these  verses,  and  in  the  authorised 
edition  of  La  Pucelle,  which  appeared  in  1762,  they  were  omitted;  but 
the  disclaimer  came  a  little  too  late  in  the  day  to  be  accepted. 

243 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

fastness  with  which  he  prosecuted  his  campaign  against  the 
Infamous,  the  poet  eventually  veered  round  once  more, 
dedicated  his  Tancrede  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and 
would  appear  to  have  sincerely  regretted  her  death. 
"  Be  assured,  dear  brother,"  he  writes  to  Damilaville, 
"  that  true  men  of  letters,  true  philosophers,  ought  to 
mourn  for  Madame  de  Pompadour.  Her  opinions  were 
in  harmony  with  ours ;  no  one  knew  it  better  than 
myself.  She  is  in  truth  a  great  loss."  And  to  Cideville 
he  says :  "  I  am  greatly  afflicted  at  the  death  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour ;  I  weep  when  I  think  of  it.  It  is  very 
absurd  that  an  old  scribbler  like  myself  should  be  still 
alive,  and  that  a  beautiful  woman  should  have  been  cut 
off  at  forty  in  the  midst  of  the  most  brilliant  career  in 
the  world.  Perhaps  if  she  had  tasted  the  repose  which 
I  enjoy,  she  would  be  living  now."  ^ 

Crebillon,  the  poet  who  had  supplanted  Voltaire  in  the 
good  graces  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  was  in  1748 
a  light  of  other  days.  Unquestionably  the  leading 
dramatist  in  France  during  the  first  two  decades  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  he  had  now  fallen  entirely  into 
neglect  and  into  the  direst  poverty.  The  favourite 
heard  of  his  unfortunate  condition  by  chance,  and  was 
genuinely  shocked.  "What  do  you  say.?"  she  cried. 
"  Crebillon  poor  and  forsaken  !  "  and,  remembering  that 
when  she  was  a  young  girl  he  had  given  her  lessons  in 
declamation,  she  immediately  obtained  for  him  a  pension 
of  a  thousand  livres  and  a  lodging  in  the  Louvre.  Mar- 
montel  relates  that  when  the  poet  called  to  thank  his 
benefactress,  she  was  unwell  and  in  bed.  Nevertheless 
she  ordered  him  to  be  admitted,  and  at  the  moment 
when  he  was  stooping  to  kiss  her  hand,  the  door  opened 

1   (Euvres  de  Foltaire  (edit.  Beuchot),  Ixi.  407  and  428. 
244 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  Louis  XV.  walked  in,  whereupon  the  witty  old  man 
exclaimed,  "  Ah,  madame,  the  King  has  surprised  us ;  I 
am  lost !  " — a  jest  at  which  the  monarch  laughed  heartily. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  did  not  rest  content  with 
relieving  Crebillon's  immediate  necessities.  Although 
he  was  at  this  time  over  seventy,  and  had  written  practi- 
cally nothing  for  twenty  years,  she  persuaded  him  to 
take  up  his  pen  again  and  to  compose  a  tragedy  called 
Catilina^  which  was  extremely  well  received,  and  occu- 
pied the  stage  for  twenty  successive  nights,  a  run  which 
was  then  accounted  highly  satisfactory.  She  also  ap- 
pointed him  tutor  to  her  little  daughter,  Alexandrine, 
and  had  a  sumptuous  edition  of  his  works  printed  at 
the  expense  of  the  Treasury,  an  honour  which  Voltaire 
had  solicited  in  vain.  Finally,  when  he  died  in  1762, 
she  induced  the  King  to  build  for  him  a  magnificent 
mausoleum  in  the  Church  of  Saint-Gervais,  the  execu- 
tion of  which  was  entrusted  to  the  celebrated  sculptor 
Lemoine.^ 

Louis  de  Boissy,  the  author  of  several  excellent 
comedies,  notably  Le  Fran^ais  h  Londres  and  U Homme  du 
Jour^  was  another  playwright  whom  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour rescued  from  extreme  poverty.  The  remunera- 
tion he  had  received  for  these  and  other  works  had  not 
been  at  all  in  accordance  with  his  deserts,  and  his  pride, 
which  led  him  to  dress  in  the   height  of  fashion,  even 

1  Claude  Crebillon,  the  dramatist's  younger  son,  who  acquired  great 
popularity  as  a  writer  of  prose  fiction,  was  far  from  sharing  his  father's 
favour  with  the  marchioness;  and  in  1750  she  was  so  shocked  at  the 
indecency  of  one  of  his  tales,  Le  Sopha,  that  she  caused  him  to  be 
banished  from  Paris.  He  was  allowed  to  return  in  1755,  when  he  was 
appointed  to  the  Censorship,  apparently  on  the  principle  that  a  reformed 
poacher  makes  the  best  gamekeeper. 

245 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

when  in  want  of  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  deceived 
those  who  might  otherwise  have  assisted  him.  He  and 
his  wife  and  child  had  actually  resolved  to  destroy  them- 
selves, when  a  friend,  who  had  accidentally  discovered 
their  lamentable  condition  just  in  time  to  frustrate  the 
attempt,  brought  the  case  to  the  notice  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  who  procured  for  Boissy  the  patent  of  the 
official  literary  organ,  the  Mercure.  Unfortunately,  the 
change  from  want  to  comparative  affluence  was  too 
much  for  poor  Boissy,  and  the  excesses  in  v/hich  he 
indulged  shortened  his  days.  It  was  in  the  Mercure 
while  under  his  management  that  the  first  of  Mar- 
montel's  Contes  tnoraux  appeared. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  would  fain  have  attached 
Rousseau  to  her  interests,  as  she  had  Voltaire,  but  all 
efforts  to  tame  him  proved  unsuccessful.  She  was 
enthusiastic  over  his  opera,  Le  Devin  du  Village^  which 
was  produced  at  Fontainebleau  in  the  autumn  of  1752, 
and  had  fully  intended  to  present  him  to  the  King ;  but 
the  composer  who,  in  order  to  show  his  independence, 
had  arrived  "  with  a  beard  of  several  days'  growth  and  an 
uncombed  wig,"  seems  to  have  felt  ashamed  of  himself 
when  he  saw  with  what  magnificence  every  one  else  was 
attired,  and  fled  before  the  fall  of  the  curtain.  The 
same  evening  he  received  a  message  from  the  Due 
d'Aumont,  requesting  him  to  return  to  Fontainebleau 
the  following  day,  as  the  King  had  expressed  a  desire  to 
see  him.  Louis,  it  appears,  had  been  as  much  pleased 
with  the  opera  as  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  Rousseau 
would  certainly  have  received  a  pension  had  he  obeyed 
the  royal  command ;  but,  either  through  shyness  or 
perversity,  or  both,  he  preferred  to  ignore  it.  Neverthe- 
less   the  Devin  was   performed  in  the   little  theatre   at 

246 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Bellevue   the   following   spring,  on   which    occasion   the 
favourite  sent  Rousseau  a  present  of  fifty  louis. 

When  Malesherbes,  the  Director  of  the  Press,  was 
looking  over  the  proofs  of  La  Nouvelle  Hilo'ise^  he  came 
across  the  following  sentence  :  "  The  wife  of  a  charcoal- 
burner  is  more  worthy  of  respect  than  the  mistress  of  a 
king."  This  he  pointed  out  to  the  author  might  be 
offensive  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  must,  therefore, 
be  either  altered  or  erased.  Rousseau  "swore  by  all  his 
gods  "  that  nothing  was  further  from  his  thoughts  than 
to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  marchioness,  and  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  retain  the  phrase,  but,  out  of  respect  for 
the  favourite,  eventually  consented  to  substitute  the  word 
"  prince  "  for  that  of  "  king."  This  alteration,  however, 
brought  down  upon  him  the  wrath  of  Madame  de 
Boufflers,  who  was  the  Pompadour  of  the  Prince  de 
Conti,  and  it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  that  the 
philosopher  succeeded  in  convincing  the  lady  that  no 
reflection  upon  her  was  intended. 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  it  appears,  did  not  care  much 
for  La  Nouvelle  Helo'ise.  She  had  not  even  sufficient 
patience  to  finish  it,  and  declared  that  Julie  was  "  an 
insipid  creature."  ^  The  ladies  of  Paris  and  Versailles, 
however,  were  of  a  very  different  opinion,  and  "  became 
infatuated  with  the  book  and  the  author  to  such  an 
extent  that  there  were  few,  even  among  the  highest 
circles,  whose  conquest  he  could  not  have  made  had  he 
been  so  disposed."  ^ 

Rousseau  was  not  the  only  writer  who  declined  to  be 
patronised  by  Madame  de  Pompadour.  The  famous 
naturalist  Buffon  also  rejected  her  friendly  advances,  not, 

^  Ga%ette  des  Beaux  Arts,  August  1759. 

2  Rousseau's  "Confessions"  (Eng.  translation,  1896),  ii.  290. 

247 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

however,  out  of  any  spirit  of  independence,  but  through 
his  attachment  to  the  Queen.  The  favourite  had  another 
grievance  against  him,  inasmuch  as  in  his  Histoire  naturelle 
he  had  declared  that  in  love  the  physical  element  alone  is 
of  importance.  This  theory  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
who,  since  the  change  in  her  relations  with  the  King, 
naturally  desired  to  see  platonic  friendship  extolled, 
begged  him  to  modify  in  future  editions  of  his  work, 
assuring  him  that  it  was  entirely  fallacious ;  and  meeting 
Buffon  one  day  in  the  park  at  Marly,  tapped  him  lightly 
with  her  fan,  exclaiming,  in  a  tone  of  reproach,  ''''Vous 
etes  un  joli  garfon ! "  Buffon  did  not  see  his  way  to 
oblige  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  this  matter,  neverthe- 
less the  latter  always  entertained  a  high  opinion  of  the 
naturalist,  in  proof  of  which  she,  at  her  death,  confided 
to  his  care  her  dog,  parrot,  and  monkey.  Buffon,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  proved  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
him,  and  the  favourite's  beloved  pets  were  sent  to  his 
country  house  at  Montbard,  where  they  passed  the 
remainder  of  their  days  in  ease  and  comfort. 

If  Rousseau  and  Buffon  were,  for  different  reasons, 
unwilling  to  owe  anything  to  the  favourite's  protection, 
Montesquieu,  the  author  of  Les  Letlres  Persanes  and 
n Esprit  des  Lois^  was  glad  enough  to  avail  himself  of  it. 
Like  Voltaire,  the  president,  in  spite  of  his  philosophy, 
was  extremely  sensitive  to  hostile  criticism,  and  soon 
after  the  publication  of  the  latter  work,  hearing  that  the 
well-known  financier  Dupin  and  his  wife,  a  lady  of  con- 
siderable literary  attainments,  were  preparing  a  refutation 
of  the  theories  he  had  advanced  in  his  book,  he  hastened 
to  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  besought  her  to  use  her 
influence  to  get  the  hostile  publication  suppressed.  This 
she   promised   to   do ;    and    as    soon    as    Dupin's    work 

248 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

appeared,  the  police  pounced  upon  it  and  confiscated  the 
whole  edition,  with  the  exception  of  half-a-dozen  copies, 
which  the  printer  managed  to  conceal.^ 

But  among  all  the  men  of  letters  of  that  time  Mar- 
montel  was  the  one  who  was  most  indebted  to  the  patron- 
age of  Madame  de  Pompadour ;  indeed,  but  for  her,  he 
might  have  languished  in  poverty  and  obscurity  to  the  end 
of  his  days,  and  the  world  would  have  been  the  poorer  for 
the  Contes  moraux  and  the  ever-delightful  Memoires. 

The  son  of  poor  parents  in  the  Limousin  he  was  edu- 
cated by  the  Jesuits  at  Mauriac,  and  afterwards  became 
a  teacher  in  their  colleges  at  Clermont  and  Toulouse. 
The  Fathers  endeavoured  to  persuade  him  to  enter  their 
Order,  but  the  youth  had  literary  aspirations,  and  in 
1746,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  set  out  for  Paris,  Orry, 
the  Comptroller-General,  having  promised  to  provide  for 
him.  He  arrived  in  the  capital  with  a  translation  of 
Pope's  "  Rape  of  the  Lock "  in  his  pocket,  but  very 
little  besides,  only  to  find  that  Orry  had  been  disgraced 
and  was  no  longer  able  to  provide  for  anybody.  How- 
ever, he  sold  his  poem  to  a  bookseller  for  a  hundred 
crowns,  after  which,  on  the  advice  of  Voltaire,  with 
whom  he  had  opened  a  correspondence  before  coming  to 
Paris,  he  began  writing  for  the  stage  and  composed 
several  tragedies,  which  brought  him  some  praise,  but 
little  money.  One  of  them  failed  through  the  leading 
actress  having  presumably  toasted  its  success  a  little  too 

1  Voltaire  was  on  one  occasion  guilty  of  a  similar  meanness.  Being 
informed  that  a  rival  poet  was  about  to  issue  a  parody  of  his  tragedy 
Semiramis,  he  wrote  to  the  Queen  demanding  its  suppression,  on  the 
ground  that,  as  his  play  extolled  virtue,  it  was  entitled  to  protection. 
Such  an  argument  naturally  appealed  to  Marie  Leczinska,  and  the  parody 
was  promptly  confiscated. 

249 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

enthusiastically  before  appearing  on  the  stage ;  while 
another,  called  Cleopatre^  was  spoiled  by  a  still  more 
unfortunate  contretemps. 

Vaucanson,  the  celebrated  mechanician,  had  manu- 
factured for  the  occasion  a  wonderful  asp,  which  writhed 
and  hissed  as  if  it  were  alive.  Expressions  of  dissent 
were  at  this  period  strictly  interdicted  in  the  auditorium, 
and  when  the  hissing  commenced,  the  soldiers,  who  were 
present  to  maintain  order,  at  once  hurried  forward  to 
discover  and  apprehend  the  supposed  offenders,  v/ith  the 
result  that  the  curtain  descended  on  the  dying  Queen 
amidst  uproarious  merriment.  "  What  think  you  of 
the  play?"  cried  one  wag  to  another.  "I  am  of  the 
asp's  opinion,"  was  the  reply,  and  the  fate  of  CUopatre 
was  sealed. 

Poor  Marmontel  was  getting  heartily  tired  of  the 
Parisian  Grub  Street,  when  Fortune  in  the  shape  of  a 
messenger  from  Madame  de  Pompadour  knocked  at  his 
door.  The  lady's  attention  had  been  attracted  by  some 
verses  containing  very  flattering  allusions  to  the  King 
and  herself,  and  had  resolved  to  take  the  writer  under 
her  protection.  At  her  instigation,  Marmontel  wrote 
two  other  tragedies,  in  one  of  which,  Les  Funerailles  de 
Sesostris,  his  patroness  made  so  many  additions  and 
alterations  that  it  would  appear  to  have  been  almost  as 
much  her  work  as  his  own.  Both  the  plays  were  entire 
failures,'^  but  the  favourite  consoled  the  author  by  per- 

^  The  second  tragedy  was  not  an  original  one,  but  a  new  version  of 
Rotrou's  Venceslas.  The  celebrated  actor  Lekain,  who  played  the 
principal  part,  was  so  indignant  at  what  he  considered  the  mutilation  of 
one  of  the  masterpieces  of  French  dramatic  literature,  that,  instead  of 
declaiming  the  lines  Marmontel  had  put  into  his  mouth,  he  insisted  on 
speaking  those  of  Rotrou.  The  result  may  be  imagined.  Surely  no 
playwright  was  ever  so  unfortunate  as  poor  Marmontel ! 

250 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

suading  her  brother,  the  Marquis  de  Marigny,  to  appoint 
him  his  secretary  at  the  Board  of  Works.  On  Boissy's 
death  she  procured  him  the  direction  of  the  Mercure^ 
and  when  he  lost  that  post,  owing  to  a  satire  on  the 
Due  d'Aumont,  apparently  not  his  own,  for  which  he 
also  suffered  a  short  imprisonment  in  the  Bastille,  a 
pension  in  its  place,  and  finally  in  1763  induced  the 
Academy  to  receive  him  into  its  bosom. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  was  not  so  successful  in  her 
endeavours  to  "  immortalise  "  two  more  of  her  proteges, 
the  Abbe  Le  Blanc,  who  had  accompanied  her  brother 
on  his  Italian  tour,  and  Piron,  the  author  of  La 
Metromanie.  The  abbe,  though  a  very  worthy  person 
in  other  respects,  had  never  done  anything  to  warrant 
such  a  distinction ;  and  when  the  Academicians  repre- 
sented to  the  favourite  that  if  he  were  elected,  it  would 
be  solely  out  of  respect  for  her,  she  had  the  good  taste 
not  to  press  the  matter  further.  Piron  was,  of  course, 
a  much  more  suitable  candidate,  but  t^  ^  King  refused 
his  sanction  on  the  ground  that  he  was  an  infidel ;  so 
Madame  de  Pompadour  procured  for  him  a  pension 
of  a  thousand  livres,  while  she  consoled  Le  Blanc  for 
his  disappointment  by  reviving  in  his  favour  the  post 
of  Historiographer  of  Public  Buildings  which  had  been 
abolished  by  Orry. 

To  the  names  we  have  mentioned  must  be  added 
that  of  Duclos,  the  historian,  for  whom  she  obtained 
the  office  of  Historiographer  of  France  on  Voltaire's 
resignation  in  1750,  and  those  of  the  famous  editors 
of  the  Encyclopedie,  Diderot  and  d'Alembert. 

Sharing  as  she  did  the  opinions  of  the  philosophers, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  would  fain  have  endeavoured 
to   combat   the   hostility  which  the  publication  of  that 

251 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

portentous  work  had  aroused,  but  her  position  was 
too  insecure  at  that  time  for  her  to  run  counter  to 
the  prejudices  of  the  orthodox,  so  she  was  reluctantly 
compelled  to  confine  herself  to  expressions  of  sympathy. 
When  the  publication  of  the  Encyclopedic  was  stopped, 
d'Argenson  tells  us  that  the  marchioness  tried  to  per- 
suade Diderot  and  his  colleague  to  resume  their  task, 
avoiding  as  much  as  possible  controversial  topics ;  but 
the  editors  did  not  see  their  way  to  fall  in  with  her 
suggestion,  and  replied  that  they  must  write  freely  or 
not  write  at  all. 

Voltaire  relates  an  entertaining  story,  which  serves  to 
show  the  interest  which  the  Encyclopedie  excited  in  high 
places,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour's  admiration  for  it. 

"  A  servant  of  Louis  XV,  told  me  that  one  day  when 
the  King,  his  master,  was  supping  at  Trianon  with  a 
small  party,  the  conversation  happened  to  turn  first  upon 
the  chase  and  then  upon  gunpowder.  Some  one  said 
that  the  best  powder  was  made  of  equal  parts  of  salt- 
petre, of  sulphur,  and  of  charcoal.  The  Due  de  La 
Valliere,  who  was  better  informed,  maintained  that  to 
make  good  gunpowder  you  required  one  part  of  sulphur 
and  one  of  charcoal  to  five  parts  of  saltpetre. 

"  'It  is  curious,'  said  the  Due  de  Nivernois,  *  that  we 
should  amuse  ourselves  every  day  in  killing  partridges 
at  Versailles,  and  sometimes  in  killing  men  and  getting 
killed  ourselves  on  the  frontier,  and  yet  be  ignorant  of 
how  exactly  the  killing  is  done.' 

"  '  Alas  ! '  said  Madame  de  Pompadour,  '  we  are  all 
reduced  to  that  about  everything  in  the  world.  I  don't 
know  how  they  compound  the  rouge  I  put  on  my 
cheeks,  and  I  should  be  vastly  puzzled  if  any  one  were 
to  ask  me  how  my  silk  stockings  are  made.' 

253 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

"  '  Tis  a  pity,'  said  the  Due  de  La  Valliere,  '  that  his 
Majesty  should  have  confiscated  our  Encyclopidies^ 
which  cost  us  a  hundred  pistoles  apiece  ;  we  should 
soon  find  there  an  answer  to  all  our  difficulties.' 

"  The  King  justified  the  confiscation  ;  he  had  been 
warned  that  the  one-and-twenty  folios  that  were  to 
be  found  on  every  lady's  table  constituted  the  most 
dangerous  thing  in  the  world  for  the  kingdom  of 
France ;  and  he  intended  to  find  out  for  himself 
whether  this  was  true  or  not  before  allowing  people 
to  read  the  book.  When  supper  was  over,  he  sent 
three  lackeys  for  the  book,  who  returned  each  stagger- 
ing under  the  weight  of  seven  volumes. 

"  It  was  then  seen  from  the  article  '  Powder '  that  the 
Due  de  La  Valliere  was  right ;  while  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour learned  the  difference  between  the  old  rouge  of 
Spain  with  which  the  ladies  of  Madrid  coloured  their 
cheeks  and  the  rouge  used  by  the  ladies  of  Paris.  She 
found  that  the  Greek  and  Roman  ladies  were  painted 
with  the  purple  that  came  from  the  murex,  and  that, 
therefore,  our  scarlet  is  the  purple  of  the  ancients; 
that  there  was  more  saffron  in  the  rouge  of  Spain  and 
more  cochineal  in  that  of  France.  She  saw  how  they 
made  her  stockings  by  loom,  and  the  machine  trans- 
ported her  with  astonishment. 

"  '  What  a  splendid  book  ! '  cried  she.  '  Sire,  you  have 
confiscated  a  perfect  storehouse  of  useful  things.  If  one 
possesses  it,  one  has  at  one's  command  all  the  wisdom  of 
your  realm.' "  ^ 

When  Frederick  the  Great,  hearing  of  d'Alembert's 
poverty,  offered  him  a  pension  of  1200  livres,  Madame 
de  Pompadour  implored  Louis  XV.,  for  the  honour  of 

1   CEuvres  de  Voltaire  (edit.  Beuchot),  xlviii.  57. 
253 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

France,  to  bestow  one  of  double  that  amount  on  the 
philosopher,  in  order  that  he  might  not  be  under  the 
necessity  of  accepting  the  bounty  of  a  foreign  prince  ; 
but  the  bigoted  monarch,  who  looked  upon  d'Alembert's 
religious  opinions  with  horror,  refused  to  do  so. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  possessed  a  splendid  library — 
a  library  mainly  composed  of  French  works  or  French 
translations,  a  proof  that  her  books  were  purchased  for 
use  and  not  for  exhibition.  Nearly  one-third  of  the 
catalogue  ^  is  occupied  by  history,  political  economy, 
civil  and  canon  law,  and  other  subjects  upon  which 
any  one  who,  like  herself,  aspired  to  be  a  ruler  of  men 
would  find  it  necessary  to  be  well  informed.  History 
is  responsible  for  over  eleven  hundred  volumes,  which 
include  the  works  of  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Xeno- 
phon,  Livy,  Polybius,  Caesar,  Tacitus,  and  Sallust ; 
histories  of  almost  every  European  country — England 
being  represented  by  Hum.e,  Burnet,  and  Swift — and 
that  of  "  ecclesiastical  councils,  popes  and  cardinals, 
monastic  and  religious  orders,  and  heresies." 

Philosophy  and  poetry  are  also  strongly  represented, 
from  Plato  and  Aristotle  to  Rousseau  and  Montesquieu, 
and  from  the  Odyssey  and  the  JEneid  to  the  Dunciad 
and  the  Henriade. 

Several  pages  are  devoted  to  theological  treatises 
and  works  of  devotion,  among  which  we  may  note 
Corneille's  translation  of  the  Imitatio  C/^m//,  Mademoiselle 
de   La  Valliere's   Reflexions   sur   la    miserkorde   de  Dieu^ 

^  Catalogue  des  livres  de  la  bibliotheque  de  feu  Mme.  la  marquise  de 
Pompadour,  dame  du  pala'is  de  la  reine  (Paris,  1765,  8vo. ).  A  rare  and 
valuable  work,  of  which  a  copy,  containing  the  prices,  in  manuscript, 
reaUscd  at  the  sale  of  her  books,  is  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 

254 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Massillon's  Sermons,  which,  it  is  said,  Louis  XV.  during 
his  periodical  fits  of  penitence  used  to  insist  on  reading  to 
the  marchioness,  and  an  Office  de  la  sainte  Vierge  pour  tons 
les  jours  de  la  semaine  {Imprimerie  Roy  ale  ^  '^1  Sl^  2,  vol. 
i2mo.,  blue  morocco  with  gold  clasps).  This  book, 
which  contained  eight  illustrations  by  Boucher,  was 
purchased  at  the  sale  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
library  for  253  livres.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
its  present  value. 

Fiction,  as  one  might  expect  in  the  library  of  a  lady, 
has  not  been  forgotten.  There  are  love  tales  of  France, 
Spain,  and  Italy ;  romances  of  chivalry — o^  the  deeds  of 
derring-do  performed  by  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights 
of  the  Round  Table,  and  by  Charlemagne  and  his  twelve 
paladins  ;  romances  "  heroic,  historical,  satyrical,  comical, 
facetious,  marvellous,  and  fantastic " ;  while  under  the 
heading  Nouvelles  we  find  Decamerons  and  Heptamerons 
gorgeously  bound  in  red  morocco,  Pamelas,  Clarissas, 
and  Julies,  Marmontel's  Contes  moraux^  and  a  work  bear- 
ing the  sub-title.  La  necessiti  d''etre  inconstant^  by  the  wife 
of  a  distinguished  statesman,  who  is  said  to  have  preferred 
the  philosophic  Diderot  to  her  lawful  spouse. 

But  undoubtedly  the  feature  of  the  library  was  its 
magnificent  collection  of  French  dramatic  works.  This 
was  divided  into  five  sections.  The  first  included  the 
plays  from  the  time  of  the  Passionists  to  that  of  Jodelle  ; 
the  second  those  from  Jodelle  to  Garnier ;  the  third 
from  Garnier  to  Hardy ;  the  fourth  from  Hardy  to 
Corneille ;  and  the  last  from  Corneille  to  the  mar- 
chioness's own  day,  in  addition  to  which  she  possessed 
all  the  ballets  of  the  Opera,  the  Theatre  Italien,  and 
the  Opera  Comique. 

In   all,   Madame   de   Pompadour's    library    comprised 

255 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

3561  volumes,  and  when  sold,  the  year  after  her  death, 
realised  41,940  liv.  8  sols.  The  books  are  now  much 
sought  after  by  bibliophiles,  and  command  high  prices. 
A  few  years  ago  a  copy  of  "  Daphnis  and  Chloe,"  with 
illustrations  by  Cochin  and  Eisen  (Paris,  4to,  1757, 
red  morocco),  was  sold  for  ^150,  and  as  the  purchaser 
parted  with  it  soon  afterwards,  it  is  probable  that  he 
realised  a  substantial  profit  upon  his  outlay.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  carried  her  love  of  books  so 
far  as  to  cause  an  edition  of  Corneille's  tragedy  of 
Rodogune  to  be  printed  for  her  at  Versailles,  and  actually 
to  print  a  few  pages  of  one  copy  with  her  own  hands. 
"  There  is  nothing,"  says  Sainte-Beuve,  "  very  remarkable 
about  these  books,  but  they  bear  witness  to  the  literary 
predilections  of  the  woman  who  once  declared  that  she 
would  have  loved  Fran9ois  I."  ^ 

1  Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  in  his  "  Books  and  Bookmen,"  says  that  this 
volume  changed  hands  about  thirty  years  ago  in  a  village  in  Hungary  for 
ten  francs. 

2  Causeries  du  Lund't,  ii.  389.  . 


256 


CHAPTER    XIV 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  patronage  of  Art — Boucher — Pigalle 
— Jacques  Guay — Portraits  of  Madame  de  Pompadour — The 
pastel  by  La  Tour — Anecdote  of  the  first  sitting — Madame  de 
Pompadour  as  an  amateur — Her  engravings  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale — Porcelain — The  favourite's  efforts  to  encourage  the 
industry  in  France — Establishment  of  the  manufactory  at  Sevres 
— Le  rose  Pompadour — Her  project  for  the  creation  of  the 
Ecole  Militaire — Difficulties  with  which  she  has  to  contend — 
Her  generosity — The  School  is  completed — Its  constitution. 

Men  of  letters  were  not  the  only  proteges  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour.  The  favourite  was  a  passionate  lover 
of  the  arts,  and  painters,  sculptors,  engravers,  and  archi- 
tects all  came  in  for  a  share  of  her  patronage.  With 
one  or  two  exceptions,  however,  she  does  not  appear  to 
have  treated  them  with  the  same  consideration  which 
she  extended  to  literary  men,  and  her  very  outspoken 
criticisms  must  have  been  sometimes  rather  hard  to  bear, 
as,  for  instance,  when  she  exclaimed,  on  beholding  The 
Three  Graces  of  Van  Loo,  "  Do  you  call  those  creatures 
Graces  '^.  " 

On  the  other  hand,  she  was  in  a  position  to  do  far 
more  for  the  encouragement  of  art  than  for  literature, 
at  a  time,  too,  when  such  encouragement  was  sorely 
needed.  Whereas  a  poet  or  a  playwright  finds,  as  a 
rule,   his  patrons  among  all  classes  of  the  community, 

257  R 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

a  painter  or  a  sculptor  must  of  necessity  depend  largely 
for  support  upon  the  great  and  wealthy ;  and  unfor- 
tunately the  great  and  wealthy  in  France  at  this  period 
exhibited  the  most  profound  indifference  to  the  claims 
of  art.  If  now  and  again  a  great  personage  was  found 
with  artistic  sympathies,  it  was  usually  some  foreign 
prince,  who  took  advantage  of  the  apathy  of  his  neigh- 
bours to  possess  himself  of  the  treasures  which  they 
failed  to  appreciate.  Of  course,  there  were  always  Court 
commissions  to  be  executed,  but  the  poor  artists  would 
in  many  cases  have  gladly  dispensed  with  them,  as  it 
would  appear  that  payment  was  not  always  forthcoming. 
Lady  Dilke  in  her  interesting  work,  "  French  Painters 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  quotes  a  letter  from  Nattier 
to  the  Marquis  de  Marigny  in  which  the  painter  con- 
fesses his  inability  to  execute  a  commission  with  which 
he  has  been  favoured  by  the  Infanta  (Madame  Elizabeth) 
for  a  portrait  of  her  sister,  Madame  Adelaide,  "  unless 
you  have  the  kindness  to  send  me  an  order  for  20,000 
crowns  at  least,  on  account  of  my  pictures  .  .  .  completed 
and  delivered  by  me  to  the  Court  during  the  past  five 
years.  I  have  had,"  he  continues,  "  the  honour  of  sub- 
mitting a  memorandum  for  the  current  year,  which 
amounts  to  20,000  livres,  and  does  not  include  the 
two  portraits  of  the  Due  de  Bourgogne  ordered  by  M. 
le  Dauphin  last  year,  but  not  yet  finished."  ^  The  mar- 
chioness, however,  seems  to  have  paid  not  only  liberally 
but  promptly,  and,  in  consequence,  the  most  famous  artists 
of  the  day  vied  with  one  another  for  her  patronage. 

Madame   de  Pompadour's   favourite  painter  was  un- 
doubtedly   Boucher,    whose    knowledge    of    the    stage 

1  Lady    Dilke's    "  French   Painters   of   the    Eighteenth    Centur^^," 
p.  151. 

258 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

rendered  his  advice  and  assistance  invaluable  in  con- 
nection with  the  costumes  and  scenery  of  the  Theatre 
des  Petits  Appartements.  Her  patronage  of  Boucher 
seems  to  have  begun  with  her  reign.  In  1746  she 
obtained  for  him  a  commission  to  paint  two  dessus-de- 
porte  for  the  Cabinet  des  M6dailles,  and  about  the  same 
time  induced  Louis  to  give  him  the  lodgings  in  the 
Louvre  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  sculptor  Coustou. 
The  following  year  he  was  employed  at  Marly,  where  he 
executed  his  hes  Forges  de  Vulcain,  as  a  dessus-de-porte 
for  the  King's  bedchamber,  and  in  1753  his  patroness 
purchased  from  him  his  magnificent  twin  pictures,  Le 
Lever  du  Soleil  and  Le  Coucher  du  Soleil,  now  in  the 
Wallace  Collection  at  Hertford  House.  His  work  at 
Bellevue  we  have  spoken  of  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Boucher  was  not  only  the  protege,  but  the  intimate 
friend  of  Madame  de  Pompadour.  He  initiated  her 
into  the  mysteries  of  etching,  for  which  lessons,  accord- 
ing to  his  biographer,  M.  Mantz,  he  received  in  payment 
"  nothing  but  smiles  and  thanks,"  designed  her  furniture 
and  even  her  fans,  and  is  said  to  have  discussed  with  her 
not  only  matters  connected  with  art  and  virtuosity,  but 
her  tastes  and  plans  generally. 

Among  the  sculptors  Madame  de  Pompadour's  favour- 
ite appears  to  have  been  Pigalle.  In  addition  to  the 
statues  we  have  already  mentioned,  Pigalle  executed  for 
the  marchioness  a  beautiful  group  entitled  U Aynour  et 
n  Amitii^  which  had  a  most  adventurous  career.  Bought 
back  by  the  sculptor  on  his  patroness's  death,  it  remained 
in  his  atelier  until  1780,  when  it  was  sold  to  the  Prince 
de  Cond6.  When  the  Revolution  came,  the  prince  took 
up  arms  against  the  new  Government,  and  all  his  art 
treasures  were  confiscated  by  the  Directory,  who  placed 

259 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Pigalle's  group  in  the  Luxembourg.  When  the  Bourbons 
returned  in  1814,  Cond6,  of  course,  recovered  his  pro- 
perty, but  V Amour  et  U Amitie  could  not  be  found,  in 
spite  of  the  most  diligent  search.  Nor  was  it  until 
1879  that  M.  Waddington,  then  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  identified  the  missing  group  as  one  that  had 
stood  for  many  years  in  the  gardens  of  the  Palais 
Bourbon,  where  it  had  suffered  so  much  from  exposure 
to  the  weather  as  to  be  hardly  recognisable.^  At  the 
late  Paris  Exhibition  a  statue  of  Madame  de  Pompadour 
was  shown  which  is  also  believed  to  be  the  work  of 
Pigalle.  The  lady  is  represented  as  a  nymph  of  Diana, 
with  a  dog  by  her  side  and  a  hunting-horn  in  her  hand. 

The  marchioness  also  bestowed  her  patronage  upon 
Jacques  Guay,  the  engraver  in  precious  stones,  for  whom 
she  secured  the  post  of  graveur  de  pierres  fines  to  the 
King.  For  her  were  executed  some  of  Guay's  finest 
works,  including  the  V Amour  et  U Amitie^  which  he 
engraved  on  one  of  the  faces  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
seal,  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  the 
engraving  representing  the  victory  of  Lawfeldt,  and  the 
celebrated  Triomphe  de  Fontenoy,  both  of  which  the 
favourite  presented  to  the  King.  They  are  now  in  the 
Cabinet  des  Medailles. 

Nearly  all  the  masters  of  the  French  School  of  her 
day  painted  the  portrait  of  Madame  de  Pompadour 
Boucher,  as  one  would  naturally  expect  from  his  intimacy 
with  the  favourite,  is  responsible  for  several  portraits 
Of  these  the  chief  is  the  large  full-length  picture  known 
as  the  "  Marquise  sur  la  chaise  longue^''  painted  in  1758, 
and  now  in  the  possession  of  M,  Adolphe  de  Rothschild. 

1  Lady  Dilke's  "  French  Architects  and  Sculptors  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century,"  p.  86. 

260 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

"  The  remarkable  force  of  character,"  says  Lady  Dilke, 
"  which  enabled  this  woman  to  hold  out  so  long  in  the 
difficulties  of  her  extraordinary  position,  is  written  with 
a  firm  hand  in  the  structure  and  forms  of  the  head  and 
face,  and  the  gorgeous  dress  and  accessories  are  handled 
with  a  freedom  which  does  not  exclude  an  appropriate 
stateliness  of  treatment,  and  which  gives  dignity  to  the 
decorative  magnificence  of  the  general  efi*ect."  ^  Another 
well-known  portrait  by  the  same  artist  is  that  of  the 
"  Marquise  au  jardin^''  now  in  the  Jones  Bequest  Gallery 
at  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  which  shows  us  the 
favourite,  gowned  in  white  and  with  white  lace  at  her 
throat,  sitting  beneath  a  tree  with  an  open  book  on  her 
knees  and  her  left  arm  resting  upon  others  at  her  side. 
A  third  portrait  by  Boucher  may  be  seen  in  the  Wallace 
Collection  at  Hertford  House.  The  marble  group  in 
the  background  of  this  picture  resembles  Pigalle's  cele- 
brated statue  U Amour  et  U AmitiL  Other  portraits  by 
the  same  hand  are  in  the  collection  of  Miss  Alice  de 
Rothschild  and  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Scotland. 

Drouais  is  believed  to  have  painted  the  marchioness 
on  four  occasions.  One  of  his  pictures,  which  represents 
the  lady  in  her  cabinet  working  at  a  loom,  surrounded 
by  her  books,  painting  materials,  and  music,  and  with  a 
little  King  Charles  spaniel  by  her  side,  was  preferred  by 
Grimm  to  any  portrait  of  Madame  de  Pompadour.  It 
is  now  in  the  museum  at  Orleans.  Another  portrait  by 
Drouais  is  at  Hampton  Court. 

Carle  Van  Loo  is  credited  with  three  portraits.  Two 
of  these  are  full-length  paintings,  in  each  of  which  the 
marchioness  appears  as  a  sultana.  In  one,  we  see  her 
reclining   on  a  pile  of  cushions  in  the  act  of  taking   a 

1  Lady  Dilke's  "  French  Painters  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  p.  55. 

261 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

cup  of  coffee  from  the  hand  of  a  black  girl  slave  ;  in 
the  other,  engaged  upon  tapestry  work.  At  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  death  these  pictures  passed  into  her 
brother's  possession,  and  when  he  himself  died  in  1781, 
were  sold  for  1900  livres.  They  are  now  in  the 
Louvre.  The  third  portrait  by  Van  Loo  is  the  half- 
length  one  known  as  "  La  belle  jardiniere^''  which  repre- 
sents the  favourite  in  peasant  costume,  wearing  a  large 
straw  hat,  with  a  basket  on  her  arm  and  a  bunch  of 
hyacinth  in  her  hand.  It  is,  or  was  until  recently,  in  a 
private  collection  at  Montpellier. 

At  an  exhibition  of  portraits  in  Paris  some  years  ago, 
a  painting  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  by  Nattier  was  on 
view.  This  is  believed  to  have  been  executed  at  an 
earlier  age  than  any  of  her  other  portraits,  in  all  pro- 
bability prior  to  her  installation  at  Versailles,  and  was 
greatly  admired.  She  is  depicted  as  "  a  goddess  of 
Olympus,  leaning  against  an  urn  from  which  water  is 
pouring.  The  chemisette  she  is  wearing  reveals  the  round- 
ness of  her  throat ;  her  chin  is  resting  upon  her  upturned 
right  hand  ;  she  has  a  very  small  mouth,  a  delicate  little 
straight  nose,  and  mischievous  eyes.  .  .  ."  ^  The  picture 
was  then  the  property  of  M.  de  Beauvais. 

But  of  all  the  portraits  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  the 
most  celebrated,  as  it  is  also  the  best,  is  the  pastel  by 
La  Tour  in  the  Louvre.  This  beautiful  picture  is  thus 
finely  described  by  Sainte-Beuve :  "  She  is  represented 
sitting  in  an  arm-chair,  holding  in  her  hand  a  sheet  of 
music,  her  left  arm  resting  on  a  marble  table,  on  which 
are  a  globe  and  several  books.  The  largest  of  the  books 
— that  nearest  the  globe — is  the  fourth  volume  of  the 
Encyclopedie  ;  while  by  its  side  lie  a  copy  of  the  Esprit  des 

1   E.  and  J.  de  Goncourt's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  338. 
262 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Lois,  the  Henriade^  and  Pastor  Fido,  evidence  of  their 
owner's  tastes,  at  once  serious  and  romantic.  On  the 
table  again,  at  the  foot  of  the  globe,  we  see  a  blue 
volume,  which  bears  on  its  back  the  title  Pierres  Gravees 
— it  is  a  work  of  her  own.  One  print,  which  has  become 
separated  from  the  rest,  and  hangs  over  the  side  of  the 
table,  represents  an  engraver  at  work,  with  the  words 
Pompadour  sculpsit.  On  the  ground,  close  to  the  table,  is 
a  portfolio  of  engravings,  stamped  with  her  arms  (three 
towers) ;  and  between  the  feet  of  the  pier-table  a  vase  of 
Japanese  porcelain — why  not  of  Sevres  ?— while  behind 
her  chair,  and  facing  the  table,  is  another  chair  or  otto- 
man, on  which  lies  a  guitar, 

"  But  it  is  the  woman  herself — that  woman  so  striking 
in  her  perfect  grace,  her  gentle  dignity,  and  her  exquisite 
beauty,  that  rivets  our  attention.  Holding  the  music- 
book  lightly  and  carelessly  in  her  hand,  she  seems  to 
have  been  suddenly  disturbed,  to  have  heard  a  sound 
that  has  caused  her  to  turn  her  head.  It  is  very  likely 
the  King,  who  is  approaching,  and  is  about  to  enter  the 
room.  She  has  the  air  of  a  person  waiting  for  some  one 
whom  she  is  expecting,  and  listening  with  a  smile.  With 
her  head  turned  thus,  she  affords  us  a  view  of  the  profile 
of  her  neck,  aureoled  by  a  halo  of  little  curls,  delightfully 
wavy  and  flaxen  in  hue,  as  one  may  perceive  through  the 
demi-poudre  which  covers  them.  The  head  stands  out  in 
relief  against  a  background  of  pale  blue,  which  is  the 
prevailing  hue  of  the  picture.  It  is  altogether  a  pleasure 
and  a  delight  to  behold  ;  melody,  perhaps,  rather  than 
harmony.  There  is  nothing  in  this  enchanted  boudoir 
which  does  not  do  homage  to  the  goddess — nothing,  not 
excepting  the  Esprit  des  Lois  and  the  Encydopidie.     The 

gown  of  flowered  satin  which  she  wears  gives  place  at 

263 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  curve  of  the  bosom  to  several  rows  of  those  bows  of 
ribbons,  which  are  called,  I  believe,  ' par f aits  contente- 
ments^  and  which  are  of  a  clear  lilac  colour.  She  herself 
has  the  tint  and  the  complexion  of  a  lily  lightly  touched 
with  azure.  That  bosom,  those  ribbons,  that  gown, 
everything,  in  short,  blends  into  one  harmonious — or 
rather  voluptuous — whole.  It  is  beauty  glittering  in 
all  the  splendour  of  its  maturity.  The  figure  is  still 
youthful ;  the  temples  have  retained  their  youth  and 
their  freshness ;  the  lips  are  also  fresh,  and  have  not  yet 
become  bloodless,  as  it  is  said  they  afterwards  became, 
from  her  too  frequent  habit  of  biting  them  in  her  efforts 
to  stifle  her  anger  when  annoyed.  Everything  in  her 
physiognomy  and  in  her  pose  is  expressive  of  grace,  of 
taste  ineffable,  of  affability  and  dignity  rather  than  gentle- 
ness. The  air  of  a  queen,  acquired  indeed,  but  which 
seems  none  the  less  natural,  and  to  be  sustained  with  but 
little  effort.  I  could  continue  and  enlarge  upon  many 
charming  details,  but  I  prefer  to  check  myself  and  send 
those  whose  curiosity  I  have  aroused  to  the  model  itself: 
they  will  see  there  a  thousand  things  which  I  dare  not 
touch  upon."  ^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  had  some  difficulty  in  per- 
suading La  Tour  to  undertake  this  portrait.  The  great 
artist  had  the  strongest  objection  to  leaving  his  studio, 
and  when  the  marchioness  sent  for  him  to  come  to  Ver- 
sailles, replied  brusquely,  "  Tell  madame  I  never  work  in 
a  town."  His  friends,  however,  persuaded  him  to  re- 
consider the  matter,  and  eventually  he  accepted  the 
commission,  but  with  the  proviso  that  no  one  should 
be  allowed  to  enter  the  room  during  the  sittings.  When 
he  reached  the  favourite's  apartments,  he  reminded  her 

^   Causeries  du  Lundi,  ii.  396. 
264 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  this  condition,  and  then  asked  permission  to  put  on 
his  "working  dress."  His  request  was  granted,  where- 
upon he  proceeded  to  unfasten  the  buckles  of  his  shoes, 
and  loosen  his  garters  and  his  collar,  after  which  he 
removed  his  wig  and  hung  it  upon  a  chandelier.  He 
then  took  from  his  pocket  a  little  silk  cap,  which  he 
put  upon  his  head,  and  announced  himself  ready  to 
begin.  He  had  not,  however,  been  at  work  more  than 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  when  the  door  opened  and  the  King 
walked  in.  La  Tour  could  not  conceal  his  annoyance 
at  being  thus  interrupted,  and,  raising  his  cap,  exclaimed, 
*'  You  distinctly  promised,  madame,  that  no  one  was  to 
be  admitted !"  The  King  laughed  heartily  at  the  painter's 
anger  and  his  comical  appearance,  and  begged  him  to  go 
on  with  the  portrait.  "  It  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to 
obey  your  Majesty,"  replied  La  Tour.  "  I  will  return 
when  madame  is  disengaged."  With  this,  he  took  up 
his  wig  and  garters  and  went  into  another  room  to  dress, 
remarking  several  times  as  he  moved  away,  "  I  do  not 
like  to  be  interrupted."  The  favourite  had  no  easy  task 
to  induce  him  to  complete  the  portrait,  so  indignant  was 
he  at  her  breach  of  faith.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  was  not  only  a  liberal  patron- 
ess of  the  arts,  but  an  enthusiastic  amateur.  In  the 
Cabinet  des  Estampes  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale 
there  is  a  collection  entitled  Suite  d' estampes  gravees par 
madame  la  marquise  de  Pompadour  d''apres  les pierres gravies 
de  Guay^  graveur  du  roi,  and  comprising  upwards  of  sixty 
engravings.  They  deal  for  the  most  part  either  with 
allegorical  subjects  intended  to  commemorate  important 
events  of  the  time  or  with  celebrated  personages.     Among 

^  Eloge  de  Latour,  Almanack  litter  aire,  1792.  Les  Maiir  esses  de 
Louis  XV.,  ii.  106. 

265 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

the  first,  may  be  mentioned  the  victories  of  Fontenoy, 
Lawfeldt,  and  Lutternberg,  the  Prehminaries  of  the 
Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  Birth  of  the  Due  de 
Bourgogne,  and  the  Franco-Austrian  Alliance  of  1756, 
which  represents  France  and  Austria  clasping  hands  over 
the  altar  of  Fidelity,  and  treading  under  foot  the  torch 
of  Discord  and  the  mask  of  Hypocrisy. 

Among  the  latter,  are  portraits  of  Louis  XV.,  the 
Dauphin  and  Dauphiness,  Augustus  III.,  Elector  of 
Saxony  and  King  of  Poland,  Crebillon  phe^  and  the 
marchioness's  faithful  ally,  the  Mar^chale  de  Mirepoix. 

Opinions  differ  somev/hat  with  regard  to  the  merit 
of  her  work,  but  it  is  generally  conceded  that  it  hardly 
does  justice  to  the  admirable  taste  which  she  always 
exhibited  in  matters  connected  with  art,  and  it  would, 
moreover,  appear  that  she  received  a  good  deal  of  pro- 
fessional assistance. 

The  favourite  also  seems  to  have  tried  her  hand  at 
that  most  difficult  art  in  which  Guay  was  such  an  adept, 
and  three  of  the  prints  in  the  collection  just  mentioned 
bear  a  note  in  that  engraver's  writing  to  the  effect  that 
the  original  stones  were  "  almost  entirely  the  work  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour." 

Besides  her  patronage  of  men  of  letters  and  artists, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  has  another  claim  upon  the 
gratitude  of  her  countrymen,  and  one  which  ought  not 
to  be  forgotten  :  it  is  to  her  that  France  is  indebted 
for  the  establishment  of  the  world-famous  porcelain 
manufactory  of  Sevres. 

The  favourite,  who  loved  to  surround  herself  with 
pretty  things,  had  often  wondered  at  the  inferior  quality 
of  the  porcelain  manufactured  in  France,  and  the  high 
prices    which    that    imported    from    China    and    Saxony 

266 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

commanded,  and  not  long  after  her  installation  at  Ver- 
sailles she  made  up  her  mind  to  see  whether  something 
could  not  be  done  to  encourage  the  native  industry. 
Her  motives  seem  to  have  been  partly  disinterested 
and  partly  selfish.  Her  patriotism  was  stirred  at  the 
thought  that  a  country  which  manufactured  the  finest 
tapestry  and  carpets  in  Europe  should  be  dependent 
upon  the  foreigner  for  its  porcelain ;  but  she  was  also 
ambitious  to  enter  into  competition  with  Augustus  III. 
(the  father  of  the  Dauphiness),  who  had  taken  the  Dresden 
manufactory  under  his  special  protection,  and  had  directed 
that  every  piece  produced  should  bear  the  royal  arms. 

She,  accordingly,  represented  to  the  King  how  desirable 
it  was  that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  prevent  the  large 
sums  that  now  went  every  year  to  China  and  Dresden 
from  leaving  the  kingdom,  and  to  create,  if  possible,  a 
foreign  demand  for  French  porcelain ;  and  easily  per- 
suaded him  to  promise  his  co-operation.  This  he  did 
the  more  willingly,  as  the  germ  of  an  institution  such 
as  the  marchioness  recommended  already  existed.  In 
1 74 1  a  manufactory  had  been  established  at  Vincennes ; 
but  it  had  not  received  adequate  support  from  the 
Government,  and,  in  consequence,  had  fallen  into  the 
most  deplorable  state  of  inefficiency,  and  contented  itself 
with  producing  the  commonest  sort  of  pottery.  How- 
ever, the  favourite  soon  succeeded  in  galvanising  it  into 
renewed  activity.  A  company  was  formed  to  finance  it 
with  a  capital  of  250,000  livres,  to  which  the  King 
added  a  further  100,000,  and  in  1749  the  Vincennes 
manufactory  employed  over  a  hundred  men  working 
either  by  the  piece  or  the  day. 

In  1756  Madame  de  Pompadour,  doubtless  finding 
that  Vincennes  was  too  far  from  Versailles,  and  wishing 

267 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

to  supervise  the  progress  of  the  art  which  she  herself 
had  practically  created,  caused  the  manufactory  to  be 
transferred  to  Sevres,  where  an  immense  building  had 
been  erected  for  the  purpose.  The  industry  had  by 
this  time  become  of  such  importance  that  it  gave  em- 
ployment to  no  less  than  five  hundred  men,  who  were 
lodged  in  the  building  itself.  Of  these  about  sixty 
were  painters,  some  of  whom  earned  as  much  as  a  louis 
a  day.^  Four  years  later  Louis  XV.  purchased  the 
establishment  from  the  company,  and  it  has  continued  to 
be  national  property  through  all  fluctuations  of  Govern- 
ment to  the  present  day.  The  monarch  appointed  the 
chemist  Jacques  Boileau  director,  at  a  salary  of  2000 
livres ;  Duplessis,  goldsmith  to  the  King,  composed 
the  models  for  the  vases ;  and  the  celebrated  landscape 
painter  Bachelier  superintended  their  decoration. 

Until  about  the  year  1761  all  the  porcelain  manu- 
factured in  France  was  artificial  or  soft  (^pdte  tendre). 
The  oldest  colour  was  the  beautiful  hleu  du  roi^  a  deep 
ultramarine.  In  1752  Helbot  discovered  the  charming 
blue  ground  colour,  obtained  from  copper,  known  as 
bleu  turquoise ;  and  a  few  years  later  a  man  named 
Xhrouet  invented  a  bright  pink,  which,  as  it  happened 
to  be  Madame  de  Pompadour's  favourite  colour,  he 
baptized  le  rose  Pompadour.  Other  colours  in  use  appear 
to  have  been  a  bright  yellow,  a  violet,  and  three  shades 
of  green,  combinations  which,  entering  as  they  did  into 
the  delicate  composition  forming  the  pate  tendre,  rendered 
the  pieces  so  produced  the  most  exquisite  that  could  be 
imagined.^     One  of  the  choicest,  a  vase,  which  the  Due 

^   Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  xvi.  77. 

2  See  Mr.  Litchfield's  "Pottery  and  Porcelain,"  p.  264;  and  Mr.  J. 
H.  Middleton's  article  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  xix.  600. 

268 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

de  Luynes  describes  as  "  three  feet  high,  mounted  on 
a  bronze  pedestal,  and  containing  a  bouquet  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty  porcelain  flowers,  so  closely  re- 
sembling nature  as  to  deceive  the  onlooker,"  ^  was  sent 
to  Augustus  of  Saxony,  as  a  gentle  hint  that  Dresden 
no  longer  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  Europe. 

But,  beautiful  as  were  the  early  specimens  of  Sevres 
porcelain,  and  far  superior  to  either  Dresden  or  Chinese 
in  regularity  of  shape  and  beauty  of  colouring,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  French  contemporary  writers,  the 
desire  to  equal  the  Saxons  in  their  hard  paste,  and  also 
to  imitate  the  durability  and  utility  of  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  porcelain,  caused  continued  experiments  to  be 
made;  and  in  1761  Pierre  Hanung,  the  son  of  the 
Frankenthal  potter,  having  sold  the  secret  of  the  hard- 
paste  porcelain  to  the  directors  of  Sevres,  and  the  neces- 
sary kaolin  having  been  accidentally  discovered  near 
Limoges,  the  manufactory  henceforth  devoted  itself  to 
its  production,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  pate  tendre,  a 
change  which  modern  connoisseurs  have  never  ceased  to 
deplore.^ 

Madame  de  Pompadour  was  in  the  habit  of  paying 
a  weekly  visit  to  the  manufactory,  often  in  company 
with  the  King,  and  invariably  made  large  purchases. 
She  also  conceived  the  idea  of  holding  an  annual  exhibi- 
tion in  the  Chateau  of  Versailles.  On  these  occasions 
she  might  be  seen  going  from  one  courtier  to  another 
expatiating  on  the  beauties  of  the  different  pieces  ex- 
posed for  sale,  and  entreating  them  to  buy ;  ^  and  when 

1  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  ix.  329. 

2  "Pottery  and  Porcelain,"  267. 

3  Luynes  says  prices  ruled  25  livres  a  vase,  50  livres  for  a  plate,  and 
2  louis  for  a  coffee-cup. 

269 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

purchasers  were  slow  in  coming  forward,  she  would 
exclaim,  "  It  is  the  duty  of  a  good  citizen  to  spend 
as  much  money  on  this  porcelain  as  he  can  possibly 
afford."^ 

Another  undoubted  service  which  the  favourite  ren- 
dered to  France  was  the  establishment  of  the  Military 
School  [Ecole  militaire).  It  was  the  institution  founded 
by  Madame  de  Maintenon  at  Saint-Cyr  which  first  sug- 
gested to  her  the  idea  of  establishing  a  school  where 
the  sons  of  noble  but  impoverished  families  who  wished 
to  enter  the  army  might  receive  a  military  education 
free  of  all  cost  to  themselves.  Accordingly,  after  con- 
sulting her  friend  Paris  -  Duverney,  who  had  once 
cherished  a  similar  project,  and  now  readily  promised 
her  his  support,  she  approached  the  King  on  the  sub- 
ject. At  first  she  met  with  little  encouragement  in 
that  quarter,  for  Louis  disapproved  of  enterprises  the 
good  results  of  which  were  likely  to  be  far  distant,  nor 
was  he  at  all  moved  by  the  picture  of  a  grateful 
posterity,  which  the  favourite  painted  in  glowing 
terms ;  but  Madame  de  Pompadour  returned  again  and 
again  to  the  charge,  and  at  length  in  1750  wrung  from 
him  a  reluctant  consent. 

For  some  months  after  the  creation  of  the  Military 
School  had  been  decided  upon  the  project  was  kept  a 
profound  secret — a  secret  so  well  guarded  that  most 
historians  give  the  credit  of  its  conception  to  d'Argenson, 
the  Minister  for  War ;  but  there  cannot  be  the  slightest 
doubt  that  the  honour  belongs  to  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour and,  after  her,  to  P^ris-Duverney,  as  the  following 
letter  from  the  marchioness  to  the  financier  will  show  : — 

^   Memoiies  du  Marquis  (T Argenson  (edit.  Rath-rry),  viii.  2  12- 

270 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

"  We  went  yesterday  to  Saint-Cyr.  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  much  I  was  affected  by  what  I  saw  there.  People 
have  said  to  me  that  a  similar  institution  ought  to  be 
founded  for  the  benefit  of  men,  which  has  made  me 
inclined  to  laugh,  for  they  will  believe  when  our  scheme 
is  known  that  it  is  they  who  have  given  us  the  idea." 

Although  the  King  had  been  won  over,  the  Ministers 
who,  after  the  manner  of  statesmen,  were  inclined  to 
look  askance  at  any  scheme,  however  beneficent,  which 
did  not  originate  with  themselves,  were  by  no  means 
enthusiastic,  and  we  find  Madame  de  Pompadour  writing 
to  Duverney,  entreating  him  to  bring  all  his  influence 
to  bear  upon  them,  and  expressing  her  anxiety  for  the 
matter  to  be  publicly  announced,  "because  after  that  it 
will  be  impossible  to  turn  back."  When  this  was  done, 
the  promoters  found  themselves  the  object  of  much 
adverse  criticism.  Some  sneered  and  prophesied  that  the 
School  would  turn  out  nothing  but  dandies,  as  Saint- 
Cyr  did  nothing  but  prudes,  while  others  contended 
that  it  was  iniquitous  to  squander  money  on  an  institu- 
tion of  the  kind  when  the  finances  were  in  such  a 
deplorable  condition.  These  expressions  of  opinion 
were  not  without  their  effect  on  the  Government,  who 
seemed  disinclined  to  take  any  further  steps  in  the 
matter ;  but  at  last  Madame  de  Pompadour  and 
Duverney  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  put  a  tax 
on  cards,  in  order  to  provide  the  initial  expenses,  and  in 
May  175 1  building  operations  were  commenced  on  the 
banks  of  the  Seine,  near  Crenelle. 

But  soon  fresh  difficulties  arose.  Duverney,  who  had 
financed  the  undertaking  to  a  considerable  extent,  wished 
to  superintend  the  construction  of  the  buildings ;  but 
the    Marquis  de  Marigny  claimed  this   right,  in  virtue 

271 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  his  post  as  head  of  the  Board  of  Works.  A  violent 
quarrel  ensued,  and  Marigny  went  the  length  of  calling 
the  banker  a  swindler,  upon  which  the  latter  refused  to 
have  anything  more  to  do  with  the  affair  and  demanded 
the  return  of  the  money  he  had  advanced.  Had  he 
persisted  in  his  resolution  the  whole  scheme  must  have 
collapsed ;  but  Madame  de  Pompadour,  by  the  exercise 
of  great  tact  and  patience,  managed  to  soothe  his  ruffled 
feelings,  and  he  consented  to  overlook  the  insult  he 
had  received  from  her  brother.  Moreover,  as  the  work 
proceeded  it  became  evident  that  the  expense  had  been 
greatly  underestimated,  and  the  question  was  seriously 
discussed  whether  the  project  had  not  better  be  aban- 
doned altogether.  Madame  de  Pompadour,  however, 
threw  herself  into  the  breach  and  wrote  to  Duverney  the 
following  letter : — 

Madame  de  Pompadour  to  Paris-Duverney. 

"  Most  assuredly,  mon  cher  nigaud,  I  will  not  allow 
this  establishment,  which  ought  to  immortalise  the  King, 
render  his  nobility  happy,  and  make  posterity  recognise 
my  attachment  to  the  State  and  the  person  of  his 
Majesty,  to  perish  in  port.  I  have  to-day  told  Gabriel  ^ 
to  make  arrangements  for  sending  back  to  Grenelle  the 
workmen  required  to  finish  the  business.  My  income 
for  this  year  has  not  yet  been  remitted  to  me,  but  I 
shall  employ  the  whole  of  it  to  pay  the  workmen.  I 
know    not  whether    I    shall   find    any    sureties    for    its 

1  Jacques  Ange  Gabriel  (ryio-Si),  the  architect  to  whom  the  con- 
struction of  the  School  had  been  entrusted.  He  was  a  member  of  a 
family  of  celebrated  architects.  His  father  had  built  the  Town  Halls  at 
Rennes  and  Dijon,  and  his  grandfather  the  royal  chateau  of  Choisy. 

272 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

repayment,  but  I  am  quite  certain  that  I  shall  spend  a 
hundred  thousand  livres  with  great  pleasure  for  the 
benefit  of  these  poor  children." 

So  much  perseverance  did  not  go  unrewarded,  and  on 
July  1 8,  1756,  the  building  was  finally  completed.  It 
had  accommodation  for  five  hundred  pupils,  who  v/ere 
divided  into  ten  companies  of  fifty  each.  None  were 
admitted  who  could  not  prove  "  four  generations  of 
nobility  at  least."  The  sons  of  officers  who  had  fallen 
in  battle,  or  who  had  died  of  their  wounds,  and  the 
children  of  those  whose  fathers  and  grandfathers  had 
fought  for  their  country  were  given  the  preference  over 
the  noblesse  without  service.  On  leaving  the  School 
the  boys  received  commissions  in  the  army  and  pensions 
of  200  livres  apiece,  to  enable  them  to  support  their 
rank. 

The  Ecole  Militaire  lasted  until  1793,  when  it  was 
suppressed  by  the  Convention,  who  replaced  it  by  the 
Ecole  de  Mars.  During  the  twenty-seven  years  of  its 
existence  it  gave  to  France  many  distinguished  officers 
and  a  sovereign — Napoleon. 


273 


CHAPTER    XV 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  responsibility  for  the  Seven  Years' 
War — The  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  a  temporary  settlement 
only — The  Empress  Maria  Theresa  resolved  on  the  humilia- 
tion of  Prussia — Kaunitz — His  character  and  eccentricities — 
He  advocates  an  alliance  with  France  against  Frederick  the 
Great — Frederick's  indiscretions — "  Je  ne  la  connah  pas  " — 
Kaunitz  goes  as  Ambassador  to  Paris — And  wins  over  Madame 
de  Pompadour  to  the  side  of  Austria — The  French  Government 
as  yet  unfavourable  to  his  schemes — He  returns  to  Vienna  and 
is  succeeded  by  Stahremberg — Divergent  colonial  interests  of 
England  and  France — The  home  governments  indifferent  to 
the  maintenance  of  peace — Incapacity  of  their  representatives  in 
London  and  Paris — Lord  Albemarle  and  his  "Lolote" — 
Hostilities  break  out  in  North  America — Refusal  of  Austria 
to  renew  her  alliance  with  England — England  opens  negotia- 
tions with  Frederick — Austria  and  Prussia  both  offer  their 
alliance  to  France — Vacillation  and  imbecility  of  the  French 
Ministry — Madame  de  Coislin  endeavours  to  supplant  Madame 
de  Pompadour — Stahremberg  in  a  dilemma — Discomfiture  of 
Madame  de  Coislin — Maria  Theresa  and  Madame  de  Pompadour 
— Present  of  a  lacquer  escritoire  to  the  favourite — Madame  de 
Pompadour's  letter  to  the  Empress — The  favourite  induces 
Louis  XV.  to  treat  with  Austria — Bernis  the  intermediary  be- 
tween the  two  Courts — His  objections  to  the  Austrian  alliance 
— The  conference  2XBahiole — Stahremberg's  proposals— Bernis 
suggests  a  compromise — The  Due  de  Nivernois  sent  to  Berlin 
— "A  piece  of  my  own  composition" — Indignation  of  Louis 
XV.  at  the  Convention  of  Westminster — First  Treaty  of  Ver- 
sailles (May  I,  1756) — "It  is  to  Madame  de  Pompadour 
that  we  owe  everything  " — Kaunitz' s  letter  to  the  favourite — 
Frederick  invades  Saxony. 

The    peace    of    A.ix-la-Chapelle,    which    in    April    1748 

274 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

brought  to  a  close  the  long  War  of  the  Austrian  Suc- 
cession, was  very  far  from  pacifying  Europe.  Frederick 
the  Great,  who  had  won  the  stake  he  had  played  for, 
was  no  doubt  content  enough ;  so,  too,  in  a  less  degree 
was  England,  which,  according  to  Chesterfield,  it  had 
come  just  in  time  to  save  from  bankruptcy.  With 
France  and  Austria,  however,  the  case  was  very  different. 
The  French  were  highly  indignant  at  the  treachery 
of  the  Prussian  King,  who  had  requited  the  efforts  and 
sacrifices  which  had  helped  him  to  secure  possession 
of  Silesia  by  coolly  abandoning  them  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity and  concluding  peace  on  his  own  account ;  while 
the  restoration  of  Cape  Breton  seemed  to  them  but  poor 
compensation  for  their  failure  to  reap  any  permanent 
advantage  from  their  victorious  campaigns  in  the 
Austrian  Netherlands. 

But  France's  dissatisfaction  with  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  was  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
haughty  Em  press -Queen.  Maria  Theresa  never  for 
a  single  moment  allowed  herself  to  forget  the  intoler- 
able wrong  she  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Frederick, 
who,  without  pretext  or  provocation,  and  in  defiance  of 
his  most  sacred  engagements,  had  attacked  the  young 
orphan  whom  he  had  pledged  himself  to  defend,  and 
wrenched  from  her  "  the  fairest  jewel  of  her  crown." 
It  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  she  had 
been  brought  to  consent  to  what  she  regarded  as  the 
dismemberment  of  her  empire ;  and  scarcely  was  the 
ink  dry  upon  the  parchment  of  the  treaty  than  she 
set  to  work  to  array  against  Prussia  a  coalition  such  as 
Europe  had  never  seen.  *'  Nothing  would  content  her," 
says  Macaulay,  in  picturesque,  if  slightly  exaggerated, 
language,  "  but  that  the  whole  civilised  world,  from  the 

275 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

White  Sea  to  the  Adriatic,  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to 
the  pastures  of  the  wild  horses  of  the  Tanais,  should  be 
combined  in  arms  against  one  petty  state."  ^ 

But,  before  this  project  could  be  realised,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  overcome  the  reluctance  of  her  own  Ministers. 
Austria  was  heartily  tired  of  war ;  and  when  in  the 
autumn  of  1748  the  Empress  summoned  a  meeting  of 
her  Council  to  discuss  the  future  policy  of  the  country, 
she  found  that  its  opinion,  including  that  of  the  Emperor, 
her  husband,  was  in  favour  of  adhering  to  the  traditional 
policy  of  the  monarchy — alliance  with  the  maritime 
powers,  England  and  Holland — and  strongly  against  any 
attempt  to  recover  Silesia. 

There  was,  however,  one  notable  exception,  a  young 
diplomatist.  Count  von  Kaunitz,  who  when  only  in  his 
thirtieth  year  had  attracted  the  favourable  attention  of 
his  sovereign,  and,  after  being  employed  on  diplomatic 
missions  to  Rome,  Florence,  and  Turin,  had  been  sent  to 
represent  Austria  at  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

Vain  and  supercilious,  ludicrously  affected,  foppish  in 
dress,  and  a  confirmed  valetudinarian,  Kaunitz  was  not- 
withstanding a  man  of  wonderful  discretion  and  tenacity 
of  purpose,  patient,  crafty,  resourceful,  and  a  master  of 
the  art  of  dissimulation.  Carlyle  thus  amusingly  portrays 
him  : — 

"Kaunitz  is  a  man  of  long  hollow  face,  nose  naturally 
rather  turned  into  the  air,  till  artificially  it  got  altogether 
turned  thither.  A  man  sparing  of  words,  sparing  even 
of  looks  ;  will  hardly  lift  his  eyelids  for  your  sake, — will 
lift  perhaps  his  chin,  in  slight  monosyllabic  fashion,  and 
stalk  superlatively  through  the  other  door.  King  of  the 
vanished  Shadows.     A  determined  hater  of  Fresh  Air; 

1  Essay  on  Frederick  the  Great. 
276 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

made  the  very  Empress  shut  her  windows  when  he  came 
to  audience ;  fed,  cautiously  daring,  on  boiled  capons ; 
more  I  remember  not — except  also  that  he  would  suffer 
no  mention  of  the  word  Death  in  his  presence.  A  most 
high-sniffing,  fantastic,  slightly  insolent  shadow-king.  .  .  . 
An  exquisite  diplomatist  this  Kaunitz  ;  came  to  be  Prince, 
almost  to  be  God-Brahma  in  Austria,  and  to  rule  the 
Heavens  and  the  Earth  (having  skill  with  his  Sovereign 
Lady  too)  in  an  exquisite  and  truly  surprising  manner.  .  .  . 
Sits  like  a  God-Brahma,  human  idol  of  gilt  crockery, 
with  nothing  in  the  belly  of  it  (but  a  portion  of  boiled 
chicken  daily,  very  ill-digested) ;  and  such  a  prostrate 
worship  from  those  around  him,  as  was  hardly  seen 
elsewhere."  ^ 

Kaunitz's   contention  was   that,  whereas  Austria   had 
hitherto   had    two    enemies    to  deal    with — France   and 


1  Carlyle's  *' Frederick  the  Great,"  vi.  i6i  and  294.  Many  interesting 
details  about  this  remarkable  man  are  related  by  Wraxall,  He  tells  us 
that  Kaunitz  in  his  later  years  wielded  almost  absolute  power  at  the 
Austrian  Court ;  that  he  treated  the  highest  nobility,  and  even  members  of 
the  Royal  Family,  with  supercilious  contempt ;  that,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
was  exceedingly  affable  and  condescending  towards  artists,  musicians,  and 
men  of  letters ;  that  he  spoke  Italian  and  French  with  ease  and  fluency, 
but  was  rarely  heard  to  utter  a  word  in  his  own  language  ;  that  if  he 
accepted  an  invitation  to  dinner  with  any  person,  however  exalted  his 
rank,  it  was  only  on  condition  that  the  wine,  bread,  and  even  the  water 
should  be  sent  from  his  own  house  and  the  principal  dishes  dressed  by  his 
own  cook  ;  that  when  he  dined  at  home,  "  even  in  company  with  the  first 
persons  of  both  sexes,"  he  was  accustomed  to  spend  at  least  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  "in  the  disgusting  occupation  of  cleaning  his  teeth,  which  he 
performed  with  all  the  minute  ceremonies  of  the  toilet "  ;  and  that,  like 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  he  had  a  passion  for  building,  and  was  perpttually 
pulling  down,  altering,  and  repairing  his  houses. — Wraxall's  "  Memoirs 
of  the  Courts  of  Berlin,  Dresden,  Warsaw,  and  Vienna "  (edition 
1799),  ii.  458-478. 

277 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Turkey — she  had  now  three,  and  that  of  these  the  King 
of  Prussia  was  by  far  the  most  to  be  dreaded ;  that 
Austria  wouldnever  be  safe  until  Frederick  was  crushed, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  recovery  of  Silesia  was  an  object 
never  to  be  lost  sight  of.  At  the  same  time,  he  was 
careful  to  point  out  that  it  would  be  most  imprudent  to 
attempt  any  aggressive  measures,  until  Austria  had  formed 
an  alliance  so  powerful  as  to  reduce  the  possibility  of 
failure  to  a  minimum.  Russia  and  Saxony  could  no 
doubt  be  gained  over  without  much  difficulty,  but  that 
would  not  be  enough  ;  for  Russian  foreign  policy,  wholly 
subservient  as  it  was  to  the  whim  of  the  sovereign,  was 
too  inconstant  to  be  depended  upon,  while  Saxony  was 
valuable  chiefly  as  a  base  for  operations.  England,  he 
considered,  would  be  but  little  inclined  to  join  an  enter- 
prise from  which  she  had  practically  nothing  to  gain, 
and  he,  therefore,  recommended  that  every  effort  should 
be  made  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  France,  by  cessions 
in  Italy,  or  even  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Netherlands.^ 

These  views,  harmonising  as  they  did  with  the  wishes 
of  the  Empress,  ultimately  prevailed,  and  it  was  resolved 
to  send  Kaunitz  as  Ambassador  to  Paris,  to  give  him  an 
opportunity  of  realising  the  most  important  part  of  his 
scheme  by  establishing  more  cordial  relations  between  the 
Courts  of  Vienna  and  Versailles,  and  so  to  pave  the  way 
for  an  offensive  alliance. 

At  first  sight,  it  seemed  an  almost  hopeless  task  to 
detach  the  French  Court  from  that  anti-Austrian  policy 
which  it  had  steadily  pursued  since  the  days  of  Henry 
Quatre — alike  under  Richelieu  and  Mazarin,  Louis  XIV. 
and  Fleury,  who  had  combated  the  pretensions  of  the 

1  Longman's  "  Frederick  the  Great  and  the  Seven  Years'  War," 
p.  80. 

278 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

House  of  Hapsburg  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Adriatic. 
Nevertheless,  there  were  not  wanting  cogent  arguments 
in  favour  of  a  change.  The  obstinately  contested  and 
ruinous  struggles  between  the  two  redoubtable  antagonists 
had  served  only  to  exhaust  and  enfeeble  themselves  and 
to  aggrandise  one  or  other  of  the  smaller  states,  such  as 
Savoy  or  Brandenburg.  Moreover,  times  had  changed. 
Austria  was  no  longer  a  great  military  power  menacing 
the  independence  of  Europe,  as  she  had  been  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Successive  wars  had 
deprived  her  of  Spain,  of  the  two  Sicilies,  of  part  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  of  Silesia.  No  one  now  but  the  most 
conservative  of  statesmen,  who  refused  to  leave  the  beaten 
paths  of  French  diplomacy  and  persisted  in  seeing  in  the 
territories  of  Maria  Theresa  the  vast  empire  of  Charles  V., 
could  deny  that  great  advantages  might  accrue  to  France 
from  an  alliance  with  her  ancient  enemy,  whereby,  in 
return  for  assisting  to  humble  the  upstart  Hohenzollern, 
concessions  might  be  obtained  in  Belgium  or  Italy  and 
a  check  put  to  the  growing  power  and  influence  of  Great 
Britain. 

But  it  is  open  to  question  whether  these  considerations, 
weighty  as  they  undoubtedly  were,  would  have  sufficed  to 
turn  the  current  of  feeling,  which  for  nearly  two  centuries 
had  flowed  steadily  in  the  opposite  channel,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  conduct  of  the  King  of  Prussia.  The  perfidy 
with  which  that  monarch  had  acted  towards  his  ally  in 
the  late  war  had  aroused  the  deepest  resentment  at  the 
French  Court ;  and  to  this  had  since  been  added  other, 
and  far  less  pardonable,  ofl^ences.  Frederick,  great 
general,  shrewd  diplomatist,  and  able  administrator  as 
he  was,  had  one  unfortunate  weakness — that  of  exercising 
his  powers  of  satire  at  the  expense  not  only  of  private 

279 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

individuals,  but  of  his  brother  potentates,  their  Ministers, 
and  their  mistresses.  He  said  undutiful  things  about  his 
royal  uncle  of  England,  whom,  fortunately  for  him,  politi- 
cal exigencies  compelled  to  forgiveness,  and  absolutely 
unprintable  ones  about  the  Czarina  Elizabeth,  whom 
he  thus  converted  from  a  warm  friend  into  a  bitter 
enemy.  He  made  coarse  jokes  about  Augustus  III.'s 
little  eccentricities,  and  his  favourite  Minister,  Count 
Brtlhl's  wardrobe,  and  lost  whatever  chance  he  may  have 
had  of  Saxon  support.  Nor  were  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  forgotten.  Of 
Louis,  Frederick  always  wrote  and  spoke  with  the  most 
withering  contempt  as  of  a  new  Sardanapalus,  and  Louis 
not  unnaturally  resented  such  comparisons;  while  Madame 
de  Pompadour  had  even  graver  cause  for  complaint. 

The  marchioness  had  at  first  professed  great  admira- 
tion for  the  Prussian  hero,  and  when  Voltaire  went  to 
Berlin  in  1750,  had  charged  him  with  all  sorts  of  flattering 
messages,  which,  however,  received  only  sarcastic  replies. 
"  When  I,"  wrote  the  poet  to  his  niece,  Madame  Denis, 
"  was  starting  for  Berlin  and  took  my  leave  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  she  bade  me  present  her  respects  to  the 
King  of  Prussia.  It  was  impossible  to  give  a  commission 
more  agreeable,  or  in  a  more  charming  manner.  She  did 
it  with  the  greatest  modesty  imaginable,  saying,  '  If  I 
might  venture,'  and  '  If  the  King  of  Prussia  will  pardon 
my  taking  such  a  liberty.'  I  suppose  that  I  must  have 
delivered  this  message  amiss.  For  I,  as  a  man  full  of 
respect  for  the  Court  of  France,  felt  assured  that  such 
compliments  would  be  well  received ;  but  the  King 
answered  me,  drily,  '  I  do  not  know  her  {Je  ne  la  connais 
pas).  This  is  not  the  land  for  swains  and  shepherdesses.' 
Nevertheless,  I  shall  write   to  Madame  de   Pompadour 

280 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

that  Mars  has  welcomed  as  he  ought  the  compliments  of 
Venus."  ^    Which  he,  accordingly,  proceeded  to  do  : — 

"Dans  ces  lieux  jadis  peu  connus, 
Beaux  lieux  aujourd'hui  devenus 
Digne  d'eternelle  memoire, 
Au  favori  de  la  Victoire. 
Vos  compliments  sont  parvenus  : 
Vos  myrtes  sont  dans  cet  asile 
Avec  les  lauriers  confondus 
J'ai  I'honneur  de  la  part  d'Achille 
D'en  rendre  graces  k  Venus."  2 

But  three  years  later  when  he  left  Berlin,  with  feelings 
of  bitter  mortification  and  anger  against  Frederick,  he 
took  care  that  these  and  other  injudicious  speeches 
should  be  faithfully  reported.  For  the  famous  "  Je  ne 
la  connais  pas "  was  by  no  means  the  only  delinquency. 
Frederick  could  not  refrain  from  scoffing  in  the  most 
public  manner  at  a  lady  so  frail  and  a  throne  so  de- 
graded. A  favourite  lap-dog,  which  sat  on  a  chair  at 
his  side  by  day  and  slept  in  his  bed  at  night,  received 
from  him  the  name  of  "  Pompadour,"  and  he  was  wont 
to  remark  with  a  chuckle  that  she  did  not  cost  him  quite 
so  much  money  as  the  other  Pompadour  did  his  brother 
at  Versailles.  He  used  to  speak  of  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's domination,  in  allusion  to  that  of  Madame  de 
Chateauroux,  as  "  the  reign  of  Petticoat  the  Second." 
Finally,  to  put  the  comhle  upon  everything,  while  all 
the  other  Ambassadors  at  Paris  were  vying  with  one 
another  for  the  favour  of  the  haughty  marchioness,  the 
Prussian  alone — Baron  von  Knyphausen — received  express 
orders    from   his   master    to   abstain    from   visiting    her. 

1  Voltaire  to  his  niece,  Madame  Denis,  August  1 1,  1 750. 

2  CEwures  de  Voltaire  (edition  Beuchot),  Iv.  446. 

281 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

"As  Frederick,"  says  Lord  Stanhope,  "affected  no 
peculiar  austerity  of  principles — as  he  sneered  at  the 
Christian  faith — as  his  own  morals  were,  to  say  the  least, 
not  beyond  suspicion — we  cannot  vindicate  these  sallies 
on  the  plea  of  offended  virtue.  We  can  only  wonder 
that  a  prince  always  so  wary  and  politic  in  his  conduct 
should  have  been  thus  reckless  and  unguarded  in  his 
conversation.  Endowed  by  nature  with  splendid  genius 
for  war  and  with  brilliant  powers  of  satire,  these  gifts 
appeared  to  counteract  each  other ;  it  needed  during 
seven  most  perilous  years  the  utmost  exertion  of  the 
first  to  repair  and  retrieve  the  ill  effect  of  the  second."  ■^ 

Kaunitz  arrived  in  Paris  at  the  end  of  October  1750, 
and  took  in  the  situation  of  affairs  at  a  single  glance. 
He  saw  that  it  was  Madame  de  Pompadour  who  held 
in  her  hand  the  success  or  failure  of  his  plans,  and  to 
her,  accordingly,  he  at  once  began  to  pay  his  court. 
He  seems  to  have  made  a  favourable  impression  on  the 
lady  from  the  very  first.  "  The  Comte  de  Kaunitz, 
Ambassador  of  the  Empress,  presented  his  credentials 
to-day,"  she  writes  to  her  brother.  "  He  is  said  to 
be  charming,  and  seems  to  me  a  very  polished  person."  ^ 
And  a  few  weeks  later  we  find  Kaunitz  writing  to  his 
Court,  *'  I  have  not  forgotten  to  pay  my  addresses  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour.  I  know  that  the  King  is  much 
gratified,  and  that  she  herself  is  not  insensible  to  my 
attentions." 

The  crafty  diplomatist,  indeed,  soon  succeeded  in 
gaining  not  only  the  goodwill,  but  the  confidence  of 
the   favourite,   and   allowed   no  opportunity   to   slip    of 

*  Stanhope's  "History  of  England,"  iv.  75. 

2  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  brother,  the  Marquis  de  Vandieres, 
November  2,  1750. 

282 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

flattering  her  vanity,  and  stimulating  the  desire  she 
had  long  cherished  of  playing  a  great  role  and  earning 
the  applause  of  her  contemporaries  and  the  admiration 
of  posterity. 

But  while  thus  dexterously  paving  the  way  for  an 
understanding  between  the  two  Courts,  Kaunitz  took 
every  precaution  to  disguise  the  real  object  of  his 
presence  at  Versailles ;  and  few  would  have  believed 
that  in  the  vain,  effeminate  dandy  who  on  his  return 
from  a  hunting-party,  was  wont  to  smear  his  face  with 
the  yolk  of  an  egg  to  prevent  its  becoming  sunburnt, 
and  at  his  toilette  had  four  valets-de-chamhre  to  throw 
hair-powder  in  all  directions,  while  he  ran  about  that 
he  might  only  catch  the  superfine  part  of  it,^  they 
saw  the  man  who  was  destined  to  revolutionise  the 
policy  of  France. 

Before  many  months  had  passed,  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour had  been  completely  won  over  to  the  Austrian 
side  and  had  promised  the  Ambassador  every  assist- 
ance in  her  power.  On  sounding  some  of  her  friends 
in  the  Council,  however,  she  found  that  opinion  there 
was  far  from  favouring  her  views,  and,  therefore,  ad- 
vised him  that  it  was  necessary  to  exercise  patience, 
as  the  Prussian  alliance  was  as  yet  too  fresh  in  men's 
minds.  Kaunitz  was  far  too  astute  to  attempt  to  hasten 
matters,  and,  accordingly,  in  1753  he  returned  to  Vienna, 
and    was    succeeded    by    the    Count    von    Stahremberg, 

1  Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.  1825),  p.  2IO.  The  lady 
adds  that  one  day  when  some  one  tried  to  cast  ridicule  upon  the 
Ambassador  on  account  of  this  eccentricity,  Madame  de  Pompadour 
exclaimed,  "  Aye,  just  as  Alcibiades  cut  off  his  dog's  tail,  to  give  the 
Athenians  something  to  talk  about  and  to  divert  their  attention  from  the 
things  he  wished  to  conceal." 

283 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

who  could  be  trusted  to  reap  the  fruit  of  the  seed  his 
predecessor  had  so  industriously  sown  the  moment  it 
should  have  ripened. 

If  the  animosity  of  Maria  Theresa  against  Frederick 
the  Great  was  the  most  disturbing  element  in  European 
politics,  the  rivalry  between  England  and  France,  which 
arose  out  of  conflicting  colonial  interests,  was  an  almost 
equally  important  factor.  In  two  opposite  hemispheres 
the  English  and  French  found  themselves  face  to  face. 
In  India,  the  open  war  between  them,  which  had  been 
stayed  for  a  brief  space  by  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
quickly  broke  out  again  in  a  new  form,  the  troops  of 
the  two  nations  appearing  as  "  auxiliaries "  on  opposite 
sides  in  the  struggle  between  Anwar-ud-din  Khan  and 
Chanda  Sahib  for  the  nawabship  of  the  Karnatic.  In 
North  America,  the  outlook  was  still  more  threatening. 
The  English  settlers  along  the  eastern  coast  of  what 
is  now  the  United  States  and  the  French  in  Canada  and 
Louisiana  were  continually  at  variance,  the  former  deter- 
mined to  push  their  settlements  inland,  the  latter  equally 
resolved  to  possess  themselves  of  the  valleys  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  unite  their  two  provinces, 
and  pen  the  English  up  within  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  impossible  for  peace  to 
be  maintained  for  any  length  of  time,  and  almost  equally 
certain  that  when  the  conflict  began,  it  would  not  be 
confined  to  the  colonists. 

It  is  conceivable,  however,  that  hostilities  might  have 
been  postponed  for  some  time  longer  than  was  actually 
the  case  had  the  Government  of  either  country  showed 
any  real  desire  for  a  better  understanding.  But  the 
Whig  oligarchy  in  England  and  the  Ministry  at  Ver- 
sailles  were    too   much   occupied   in    quarrelling   among 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

themselves  to  exercise  the  slightest  control  over  their 
unruly  colonists  ;  while,  by  an  unfortunate  coincidence, 
their  incapacity  and  indilFerence  were  reflected  in  their 
representatives  in  London  and  Paris.  The  French 
Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's,  during  the 
years  immediately  succeeding  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  was  the  husband  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
bosom  friend,  the  Marechale  de  Mirepoix.  This  noble- 
man appears  to  have  been  so  fascinated  with  the  beauty 
of  the  English  ladies,  that  we  are  told  he  spent  most  of 
his  time  in  "  dancing  and  love-making,"  and  had  none 
to  spare  for  other  matters ;  while  our  representative 
at  the  French  Court  was  even  more  worthless  from  a 
diplomatic  point  of  view.  The  post,  indeed,  according 
to  Horace  Walpole,  was  merely  kept  up  for  the  benefit 
of  George  II. 's  favourite,  William  Keppel,  Earl  of  Albe- 
marle, "  the  spendthrift  earl."  The  sentimental  Mar- 
montel  speaks  of  him  as  "  the  perfection  of  what  one 
would  call  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  honour,"  and 
declares  that  he  "  united  what  is  best  and  most  valuable 
both   in  the  French  and   English   characters."  ^      These 

^   Memo'ires  de  Marmontel  (edit.    1804),  i.  342. 

Lord  Chesterfield  in  a  letter  to  his  son  holds  him  up  as  an  encouraging 
instance  of  the  honours  and  emoluments  which  his  fayourite  Graces  can 
confer.  '*  Between  you  and  me,  for  this  example  must  go  no  further, 
what  do  you  think  made  our  friend,  Lord  Albemarle,  Colonel  of  a 
regiment  of  Guards,  Governor  of  Virginia,  Groom  of  the  Stole,  and 
Ambassador  to  Paris  ;  amounting  in  all  to  sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand 
pounds  a-year  ?  Was  it  his  birth  ? — No  ;  a  Dutch  gentleman  only.  Was 
it  his  estate  ? — No  ;  he  had  none.  Was  it  his  learning,  his  parts,  his 
political  abilities,  and  application  ?  You  can  answer  these  questions  as 
easily,  and  as  soon,  as  I  can  ask  them.  What  was  it  then  ? — Many  people 
wondered,  but  I  do  not,  for  I  know,  and  will  tell  you.  It  was  his  air, 
his  address,  his  manners,  and  his  graces." — Lord  Chesterfield  to  his  son, 
May  27,  1752. 

285 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

admirable  qualities  did  not  prevent  him  from  wasting 
the  time  which  he  should  have  devoted  to  his  duties, 
and  the  money  which  should  have  gone  to  benefit  his 
wife  and  numerous  family  —  he  had  eight  sons  and 
seven  daughters — on  a  certain  fascinating  Mademoiselle 
Gaucher,  a  lady  "whose  figure  combined  the  majesty 
of  the  cedar  with  the  pliancy  of  the  poplar,  and  to 
whom  he  gave  the  childish  and  tender  appellation  of 
Lolote."  Albemarle  was  blindly  devoted  to  this  woman, 
who,  not  content  with  ruining  him  in  fortune,^  is  said  to 
have  sold  his  secrets  to  the  French  Government.  He 
died  suddenly  at  his  post  in  December  1754,  by  which 
time  the  breach  between  the  two  countries  had  widened 
beyond  all  hope  of  reconciliation.^ 

Hostilities,  indeed,  had  already  broken  out  in  America, 
where  Duquesne,  the  Governor  of  Canada,  had  despatched 
troops  to  seize  the  territory  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  Eng- 
lish Government  had  sent  orders  to  the  Virginians  and 
Pennsylvanians  to  resist  them.  The  situation  became 
more  serious ;  a  body  of  regulars  sailed  from  England 
to  the  assistance  of  the.  colonists,  while  privateers  fell 
upon  the  French  shipping  and  inflicted  considerable 
damage. 

War  was  now  plainly  inevitable.  George  II. 's  fears 
for  his  beloved  Hanover  were  at  once  aroused,  and  the 
Ministry  applied  to  Austria  for  a  renewal  of  their  alliance, 

1  Marmontel  relates  that  one  evening,  seeing  the  lady  gazing  somewhat 
earnestly  at  a  star,  the  earl  exclaimed,  "  Do  not  look  so  much  at  it,  my 
dear,  for,  alas,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  give  it  you  !  "  After  Albemarle's 
death,  the  fascinating  Lolote  married  Comte  d'Herouville,  the  Governor 
of  Montauban,  whom  she  had  nursed  through  a  severe  illness,  and  died, 
it  is  said,  of  mortification  at  the  refusal  of  the  beau  monde  of  Paris  to 
receive  her. 

2  Stanhope's  "History  of  England,"  iv.  45. 

286 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

by  which  the  latter  was  to  strengthen  its  forces  in  the 
Netherlands,  in  order  to  oppose  the  threatened  advance 
of  the  French.  Now  the  relations  between  the  Courts 
of  St.  James  and  Vienna  had  been  somewhat  strained 
since  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  not  that  that  would 
have  stood  in  the  way  of  their  co-operation  had  their 
interests  been  Sktill  identical.  Such,  however,  was  no 
longer  the  case.  England  thought  only  of  using  Austria 
against  France ;  Austria's  one  idea  was  to  crush  Fred- 
erick, with  whom  England  had  no  quarrel.  The  result 
was  that  the  Imperial  Government  replied  that  the 
despatch  of  an  army  to  Belgium  would  leave  their 
territories  exposed  to  an  invasion  from  Prussia ;  and 
the  long  alliance  between  England  and  Austria,  which 
the  ambition  of  Louis  XIV.  had  called  into  being,  was 
at  an  end. 

Nothing  now  remained  for  the  English  Government 
but  to  make  overtures  to  Prussia — to  Prussia  whose 
monarch  had  said  of  George  II.  that  he  "  deserved  the 
galleys."  Necessity,  however,  knows  no  law,  and,  ac- 
cordingly. Lord  Holdernesse  was  despatched  as  Envoy 
to  Berlin,  with  instructions  to  come  to  terms  with 
Frederick  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

While  these  negotiations  were  proceeding,  the  Ministry 
at  Versailles  was  in  a  hopelessly  chaotic  state.  As  soon 
as  the  news  arrived  of  the  English  attacks  upon  their 
commerce,  Stahremberg,  the  Imperial  Ambassador,  had 
formally  offered  the  Austrian  alliance  to  the  French 
Court.  A  contradictory  proposal  was  made  almost  at 
the  same  moment  by  the  Prussian  representative,  Knyp- 
hausen,  who  suggested  that  France  should  unite  with 
Frederick  against  England  and  Austria,  the  French 
invading    Belgium  and    the    Prussians  Bohemia.      Stah- 

287 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

remberg's  offer  does  not  appear  to  have  found  at  this 
moment  any  support  in  the  Council,  but  the  question 
of  an  alliance  with  Prussia  was  long  and  angrily  debated. 
D'Argenson,  the  War  Minister,  urged  the  acceptance  of 
Frederick's  proposition,  maintaining  that  a  Continental 
war  was  now  inevitable,  and  that  in  such  a  struggle 
Prussia,  with  a  well-filled  treasury  and  the  greatest  general 
of  the  age  in  command  of  its  troops,  was  a  far  more 
valuable  ally  than  Austria,  destitute  alike  of  money  and 
capable  leaders.  Machault,  now  Minister  of  Marine, 
denied  that  war  upon  the  Continent  must  necessarily 
ensue,  protested  against  any  offensive  alliance,  and  urged 
that  hostilities  should  be  confined  to  the  sea.  The  dis- 
cussion was,  in  reality,  nothing  but  the  continuation  of 
the  rivalry  between  the  heads  of  the  army  and  navy 
which  had  been  going  on  ever  since  the  latter  had 
thrown  in  his  lot  with  Madame  de  Pompadour,  each 
Minister  advocating  the  kind  of  warfare  which  would 
increase  the  importance  of  his  own  department.  The 
Council  was  divided ;  some  supported  d'Argenson  and 
others  Machault.  As  for  the  King,  he  appeared  incap- 
able of  forming  an  opinion  one  way  or  the  other. 

Eventually,  a  sort  of  compromise  was  effected,  whereby 
it  was  resolved  to  abandon  all  idea  of  an  offensive  alliance 
with  Prussia  against  Austria,  but  to  proceed  with  the 
proposed  invasion  of  Hanover,  an  attack  upon  which  it 
was  fondly  imagined  would  cause  England  to  capitulate 
with  regard  to  the  maritime  interests.  Such  an  assump- 
tion might  have  been  justified  if  George  II.  had  been  as 
absolute  as  Henry  VIII.,  or  If  the  English  people  had 
cared  more  for  the  foreign  possessions  of  their  unpopular 
sovereign  than  for  their  own  commercial  supremacy  ;  as 
matters  stood,   it  was    the  height   of  fatuity.     Almost 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

equally  ridiculous  was  the  resolution  to  invite  Frederick 
to  co-operate  against  Hanover,  while  France  was  not  to 
be  required  to  pledge  herself  to  support  him  against 
Austria,  which,  as  Martin  justly  observes,  was  to  treat 
the  Prussian  monarch  like  a  condottiere  in  French 
pay. 

Meanwhile  Kaunitz  was  urging  Stahremberg  to  return 
to  the  attack,  and  to  induce  Madame  de  Pompadour  to 
bring  her  influence  to  bear  upon  Louis ;  for  up  to  this 
moment,  owing  to  the  strong  opposition  to  the  Austrian 
alliance  evinced  by  nearly  all  the  Ministers,  the  mar- 
chioness had  not  ventured  to  broach  the  subject  to  the 
monarch.  The  Ambassador  replied  that  matters  were 
now  very  complicated  at  Versailles — the  King  had  fallen 
in  love  !  The  new  enchantress  was  a  certain  Madame 
de  Coislin,  who  aspired  to  become  maitresse-en-titre ^  and 
whose  pretensions  to  that  exalted  post  were  supported  by 
the  Prince  de  Conti,  the  prince  who,  on  a  certain  memor- 
able occasion,  had  found  Madame  de  Pompadour's  bed 
such  an  excellent  substitute  for  an  arm-chair.  Conti 
was  not  a  Minister,  but  he  was  a  great  favourite  of  the 
King.  He  conducted  the  monarch's  correspondence  with 
his  secret  agents  at  the  various  European  Courts,  which 
makes  French  diplomacy  at  this  period  an  almost  track- 
less labyrinth ;  took  upon  himself  to  interfere  in  every 
department  of  the  State,  to  the  intense  disgust  of  the 
different  Ministers,  and  was  continually  at  variance  with 
Madame  de  Pompadour.^ 

Stahremberg  informed  his  Government  that  if  Madame 
de  Coislin  was  destined  to  supplant  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  carry  on  their 
negotiations   through    the    latter,   and    that    the    wisest 

^   Memoires  et  Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernls,  i.  205. 

2S9  T 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

course  would  be  to  make  overtures  to  the  Prince  de 
Conti.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Coislin  affair  was 
merely  a  galanterie^  they  might  do  their  cause  irrepar- 
able harm  by  slighting  the  marchioness.  He  confessed 
that  he  was  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  and  awaited 
instructions  from  Vienna. 

Kaunitz  replied  that  the  Ambassador,  as  he  was  on 
the  spot,  was  in  the  best  position  to  judge  whether  the 
new  liaison  was  likely  to  prove  a  permanent  one,  and 
that  he  must  use  his  discretion  in  the  matter.  Stah- 
remberg,  accordingly,  after  some  further  hesitation, 
decided  in  favour  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  the 
issue  justified  his  choice.'^ 

This  Madame  de  Coislin,  whose  appearance  upon  the 
scene  occasioned  the  Austrian  Ambassador  so  much  un- 
easiness, seems  to  have  been  a  source  of  equal  disquietude 
to  Madame  de  Pompadour.  For  a  time  she  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  good  graces  of  the  impressionable  mon- 
arch ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that,  at  length,  she  began  to 
treat  the  marchioness  with  considerable  hauteur.  "  I  never 
saw  her  (Madame  de  Pompadour)  in  such  a  state  of 
agitation,"  says  Madame  du  Hausset,  "  as  one  evening 
on  her  return  from  the  salon  at  Marly.  Angrily  throw- 
ing down  her  cloak  and  muff  the  moment  she  entered 
the  room,  she  began  to  tear  off"  her  clothes,  and  then, 
having  dismissed  her  other  women,  she  said  to  me,  '  I 
do  not  think  I  have  ever  met  anybody  so  insolent  as 
Madame  de  Coislin.  I  was  playing  brelan  at  the  same 
table  with  her  this  evening,  and  you  cannot  conceive  what 
I  had  to  endure.  All  the  men  and  women  in  the  room 
seemed  to  come  up  in  turn  to  watch  us.  Two  or  three 
times  Madame  de  Coislin  looked  at  me  and  exclaimed, 

1  D'Arneth's  Maria  Theresia,  1 748-1 756. 
290 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

^^  Va  toutV  in  the  most  insulting  manner;  and  I  really 
thought  I  should  have  fainted  when  she  said  to  me, 
in  a  tone  of  triumph,  "  I  hold  the  brelan  of  kings."  I 
wish  you  could  have  seen  the  curtsey  she  made  me 
on  retiring.'  '  Did  the  King,'  said  I,  *  show  her  any 
particular  attention } '  '  You  don't  know  him,'  said 
she,  '  if  he  were  going  to  install  her  to-night  in  my 
apartment,  he  would  behave  coldly  to  her  before  people, 
and  treat  me  with  the  utmost  kindness.  This  is  the 
result  of  his  education,  for  he  is  by  nature  kind-hearted 
and  frank.'  "  ^ 

Fortunately  for  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  the 
Cabinet  of  Vienna,  the  lady's  haughty  airs,  and  still 
more  her  perpetual  demands  for  money,  began  to  weary 
her  royal  admirer,  "who  would  sign  an  order  for  a 
million  livres  without  a  second  thought,  but  would 
give  a  hundred  louis  out  of  his  little  private  treasury 
only  with  the  greatest  reluctance ; "  and  an  ingenious 
little  scheme,  concocted  between  the  m.archioness  and 
Janelle,  the  Intendant  of  the  Post  Office,^  completed  the 
discomfiture  of  the  "  proud  Vashti,"  as  the  favourite 
called  her  rival. 

The  officials  of  the  French  Post  Office  at  this  period 
were  as  little  troubled  by  scruples  regarding  the 
sanctity  of  the  letters  committed  to  their  charge  as 
are  those  of  the  Sublime  Porte  at  the  present  day 
and,  since  their  duties  were  not  particularly  onerous,  it 
was  customary  to  employ  some  of  their  leisure  time 
in    opening    and    examining    any    epistles    the    contents 

^   Memo'ires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.  1825),  p.  105. 

2  "  This  Janelle  is  a  great  rogue  and  traitor  ;  he  has  already  deceived 
two  or  three  Ministers  under  whom  he  has  served." — Memoires  du 
Marquis  d* Argenson^  iv.  251. 

291 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  which  they  had  reason  to  believe  might  repay 
perusal.  The  modus  operandi  was  as  follows :  Half-a- 
dozen  clerks  picked  out  the  letters  they  were  ordered 
to  break  open,  and  took  the  impression  of  the  seals 
with  a  ball  of  quicksilver.  They  next  put  each  letter, 
with  the  seal  downwards,  over  a  glass  of  hot  water, 
which  melted  the  wax,  without  injuring  the  paper.  It 
was  then  opened  and  a  copy  of  its  contents  taken, 
after  which  it  was  sealed  again,  by  means  of  the 
impression,  and  forwarded  to  its  destination.  Every 
Sunday  the  Intendant  of  the  Post  Office  carried  his 
selections  from  the  past  week's  correspondence  to  the 
King,  who  doubtless  derived  considerable  amusement 
from  the  perusal  of  his  subjects'  letters ;  for,  aware  of 
the  monarch's  tendency  to  ennui,  and  that  the  surest 
road  to  his  favour  was  to  provide  him  with  an  hour's 
diversion,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  Intendant  did 
not  confine  his  attention  to  epistles  of  a  purely  political 
nature. 

One  Sunday  Janelle,  who  was  a  devoted  adherent  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  always  made  a  point  of 
exhibiting  his  spoils  to  her  before  submitting  them  to  the 
King,  brought  to  Versailles  a  letter  written,  or  supposed 
to  have  been  written,  by  an  old  counsellor  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  well  known  for  his  attachment  to  the 
Court,  to  one  of  his  friends,  and  containing  the  following 
passage  : — 

"  It  is  quite  reasonable  that  our  master  should  have  a 
lady  friend — a  confidante — as  we  all  do  ourselves,  when 
we  have  a  mind  to ;  but  it  is  desirable  that  he  should 
keep  the  one  he  has ;  she  is  an  amiable  woman  and 
injures  no  one,  and  her  fortune  is  made.  The  one  who 
is  now  talked  of  will  be  as  haughty  as  high  birth  can 

292 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

make  her.  She  will  have  to  have  an  allowance  of  a  million 
livres  a  year,  since  she  is  said  to  be  excessively  extra- 
vagant ;  her  relatives  will  have  to  be  created  dukes, 
governors,  and  marshals,  and  in  the  end  will  surround 
the  King  and  overawe  the  Ministers."  ^ 

This  letter  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  King, 
all  the  more  so  as  the  cunning  valet-de-chambre  Lebel, 
who  had  reasons  of  his  own  for  not  wishing  to  see 
Madame  de  Pompadour  displaced,  had  lately  provided 
a  counter-attraction  for  his  royal  master  in  the  person  of 
"  a  charming  little  sultana,"  who  had  been  installed  at 
the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  and  in  whose  society  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty  was  spending  a  good  deal  of  his 
time.  The  consequence  was  that  a  few  days  after 
the  receipt  of  the  above-mentioned  epistle,  Madame  de 
Pompadour  was  able  to  announce  to  her  faithful  waiting- 
woman  that  Madame  de  Coislin  "  had  been  shown  the 
door." " 

It  has  frequently  been  asserted  that,  while  the  question 
of  an  Austrian  alliance  was  trembling  in  the  balance, 
Maria  Theresa,  in  order  to  confirm  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour in  her  Austrian  sympathies,  condescended  to  write 
to  her  an  autograph  letter,  couched  in  the  most  flatter- 
ing  terms.      In    a    monotonous    age    it    seems    almost 

^   Me  moires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.   1825),  p.   1 06. 

2  Bernis,  in  his  Memolres,  takes  all  the  credit  of  the  defeat  of  Madame 
de  Coislin  to  himself.  He  says  that  he  wrote  to  Louis,  representing  that 
a  new  maitresse  declaree  "  would  be  injurious  to  his  interests  and  reputa- 
tion, and  would  give  umbrage  to  the  Court  of  Vienna,"  and  that  if  the 
monarch  intended  to  acknowledge  the  lady  as  such,  he  must  crave 
permission  to  resign  his  office  (he  was  then  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs)  ;  that  the  King  replied  "with  the  greatest  kindness  and  frank- 
ness," acknowledged  that  Bernis  was  right,  and  promised  "  to  subdue 
his  passion  for  Madame  de  Coislin." 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

a  pity  to  spoil  so  striking  a  story,  but,  in  the  interests 
of  truth,  we  feel  compelled  to  remark  that  this 
anecdote,  which  would  appear  to  have  originated  with 
Duclos,  a  charming  writer,  but  an  untrustworthy 
historian,  is  quite  untrue.  The  Empress-Queen  never 
wrote  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  never  addressed 
her  as  "  Madame^  ma  trh  chhre  sceur"  or  even  as  "  Ma 
cousiney  The  choice  of  the  marchioness  in  preference 
to  the  Prince  de  Conti  as  the  intermediary  between 
the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  and  the  Council  at  Versailles 
was  itself  a  sufficient  claim  to  the  favourite's  gratitude. 
No  flattery  was  needed.  We  have,  in  fact,  an  explicit 
denial  from  Maria  Theresa  herself,  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  written  on  October  lo,  1763,  to  the  Electress  of  | 
Saxony : — 

"  You  are  deceiving  yourself  if  you  believe  that  we 
have  ever  had  any  dealings  with  Madame  de  Pompadour. 
Never  did  either  letter  or  Ambassador  pass  by  that 
channel.  They  were  obliged  to  pay  court  to  her  like 
all  the  others ;  but  there  was  never  any  intimacy.  That 
channel  would  not  have  suited  me.  I  made  her  a  present, 
rather  flattering  than  magnificent,  in  the  year  1756,  and 
with  the  King's  permission.  I  did  not  think  she  would 
have  accepted  it  otherwise."  ^  j 

This  present  was  a  lacquer  escritoire,  set  with  the  '^ 
portrait  of  the  Empress-Queen  studded  with  jewels. 
It  was  made  to  Stahremberg's  order  by  Durollay  and 
Estienne,  jewellers,  of  the  Place  Dauphine,  Paris,^  and 
cost,  despite  the  fact  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  "  more 
flattering  than  magnificent,"  no  less  a  sum  than  77,000 

1  D'Arneth's  Maria  Theres'ia,  17 56-1 7 58. 

2  Maria  Theresa  sent  a  number  of  lacquer  boxes,  of  which  she  had  a 
fine  collection,  to  be  used  in  the  making  of  the  escritoire. 

294 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

livres.^  The  Empress  in  her  letter  says  that  it  was 
presented  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  T756;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  ordered  until  May  1757,  and 
not  completed  until  January  1759.  Its  arrival  was  pre- 
ceded by  the  following  letter  from  Kaunitz,  which,  it 
must  be  admitted,  seems  a  very  fair  substitute  for  an 
epistle  from  his  Imperial  mistress  herself: — 


The  Count  von   Kaunitz-Rietberg  to  Madame    de 
Pompadour. 

"  The  Empress  is  touched,  madame,  by  the  interest 
which  you  continue  to  take  in  her  alliance  with  the 
King.  She  has  noticed  during  the  whole  time  the  con- 
stancy and  firmness  with  which  since  its  inauguration 
you  have  been  attached  to  the  system  happily  established 
between  the  two  Courts,  and  it   has  afforded  Her  the 

^  Here  is  the  bill : — 

Gold  set,  lacquer  work  escritoire,  with  ink- 
horn,  sand-box,  and  sponge-box,  gold 

Disbursed  for  the  lacquer 

Disbursed  for  the  cabinet-maker,  case- 
maker,  and  locksmith  .... 

For  workmanship,  engraving,  and  chasing  . 

The  account  of  the  jeweller,  Lempereur 

The  price  of  the  portrait  paid  to  the  minia- 
ture-painter, Venevault  .  .  .  600  „ 

For  a  little  box  lined  with  copper,  in  which 
the  present  has  been  sent  to  Vienna  and 
returned  to  Paris  ....  30  „ 

For  the  packing  of  the  present  and  the 
lacquer  which  has  been  returned  to 
Vienna       .  .  .  .  .  .  28  ,,   19  s. 


3'464 

liv. 

528 

55 

360 

>j 

6,148 

5> 

66,000 

5? 

77,278  liv.  19  s. 


295 


'MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

most  lively  satisfaction.  She  has  commanded  me  to 
intimate  the  same  to  you  in  Her  name,  and,  as  She 
thinks  that  it  will  not  be  displeasing  to  you,  and  that  the 
King  cannot  fail  to  approve,  if  She  endeavours  to  testify 
to  you  how  deeply  sensible  She  is  of  your  affection  for 
Him  and  for  Herself,  She  is  sending  directions  to  the 
Count  von  Stahremberg  to  remit  to  you  a  little  token  of 
remembrance  from  Her,  and  begs  that  you  will  be  pleased 
to  accept  it  as  a  proof  of  Her  esteem  for  you.  I  am 
charmed  that  the  Empress  has  been  willing  to  avail 
Herself  of  my  services  to  inform  you  of  Her  intentions. 
Do  me  the  favour  of  complying  with  Her  wishes,  and 
retain  for  myself  that  kindly  feeling  that  I  shall  make  it 
my  boast  to  deserve  by  the  respect  and  sincere  attach- 
ment I  shall  most  assuredly  cherish  for  you  while  life 
lasts." 

To  which  the  flattered  marchioness  replied  : — 

Madame   de  Pompadour  to  The  Count 
VON  Kaunitz-Rietberg. 

"  Were  you  to  unite.  Monsieur  le  Comte,  all  the 
sentiments  with  which  the  nobility  and  tenderness  of 
your  heart  are  able  to  inspire  you,  you  would  be  very 
far  from  feeling  what  mine  experienced  on  receiving  the 
portrait  of  Her  Imperial  Majesty.  I  am  overwhelmed 
by  such  an  unprecedented  mark  of  condescension. 
My  heart,  accustomed  to  contemplate  with  the  most 
respectful  admiration  the  extraordinary  graciousness  of 
the  Empress,  did  not  dare  to  flatter  itself  that  she  would 
extend  it  to  me.  It  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to 
adequately  express  to  the  greatest  princess  in  the  world 

296 


'MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

my  sense  of  her  kindness.  Pardon  my  diffidence,  Mon- 
sieur le  Comte,  I  entreat  you  ;  convey  to  her  the  senti- 
ments for  herself  which  I  expressed  in  your  presence  at 
Compi^gne ;  give  expression  to  the  feelings  which  you 
yourself  entertain  for  your  adorable  mistress ;  you  will 
not  be  exaggerating  in  the  smallest  degree.  I  leave 
your  heart  to  interpret  the  feelings  of  my  own.  You 
can  judge  by  yourself,  Monsieur  le  Comte,  of  my  anxiety 
that  Her  Imperial  Majesty  should  be  made  aware  of 
the  true  nature  of  my  sentiments.  In  entrusting  you 
with  a  commission  to  which  I  attach  so  much  importance, 
I  am  giving  you  a  proof.  Monsieur  le  Comte,  of  the 
extent  of  the  esteem  and  friendship  I  have  professed 
for  you. 

^'January  28,  1759- 

"  I  do  not  dare  to  complain  of  the  magnificence  of  the 
present,  but  my  delight  would  have  been  as  great  had  I 
received  the  portrait  alone." 

In  spite  of  her  "  diffidence,"  Madame  de  Pompadour 
succeeded  in  summoning  up  sufficient  courage  to  address 
the  same  day  to  "  the  greatest  princess  in  the  world  "  the 
following  letter : — 

Madame   de  Pompadour  to  The  Empress 

Maria  Theresa. 

"  May  I  be  permitted  to  hope  that  Your  Imperial 
Majesty  will  deign  to  accept  my  very  humble  thanks 
and  expressions  of  respectful  gratitude  for  the  inestim- 
able portrait  which  has  been  sent  to  me  ?  If  to  deserve 
this  precious  gift,  nothing  further  is  necessary  than  to  be 

297 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

penetrated  to  the  depths  of  one's  soul  with  the  sincere 
admiration  and  enthusiasm  which  the  entrancing  graces 
and  the  heroic  virtues  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty  are  wont 
to  inspire,  no  one  in  the  world  can  have  a  better  claim 
than  myself.  I  venture  to  add  that  there  is  not  one 
among  the  subjects  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty  who  does 
not  render  homage  to  those  rare  and  sublime  qualities. 
You  are  accustomed,  madame,  to  observe  in  all  those 
who  have  the  happiness  to  approach  you  the  sentiments 
that  I  have  the  honour  to  express  for  you ;  but  I  trust 
Your  Majesty  will  deign  to  distinguish  mine,  and  to 
regard  them  as  inspired  by  the  most  profound  respect 
with  which  I  am,  madame,  Your  Imperial  Majesty's 
most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 

"Jeanne   de  Pompadour.^ 

'■^January  28,  1759." 

As  soon  as  Stahremberg  had  decided  to  ignore  the 
pretensions  of  Madame  de  Coislin  and  her  champion,  the 
Prince  de  Conti,  and  to  continue  to  pay  court  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  he  suggested  to  the  marchioness  that, 
since  the  Council  had  shown  itself  unfavourable  to  the 
Austrian  alliance,  it  would  be  advisable  for  her,  for  the 
present  at  least,  to  confine  her  good  offices  to  endeavour- 
ing to  gain  the  King  over  to  their  side.  He  was  of 
opinion  that  if  once  Louis  XV.  could  be  induced  to  lend 
a  willing  ear  to  the  proposals  of  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna, 
half  the  battle  would  have  been  won,  and  their  ultimate 
acceptance  assured,  in  spite  of  the  pronounced  hostility 
of  some  of  the  Ministers. 

The  favourite  found   the  task  allotted   her  an  easier 

1  D'Arneth's  Maria  Theresla,  i  756-1758.      E.  and  J.  de  Goncourt's 
Madame  de  Pompadour^  p.  155. 

298 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

one  than  she  had  dared  to  hope.  Frederick  had  all  an 
author's  vanity  in  not  allowing  any  of  his  hon-mots  to  be 
lost,  and  some  of  his  recent  utterances  had  stirred  his 
brother  potentate  at  Versailles  to  as  much  resentment  as 
he  was  capable  of  feeling.  Moreover,  sunk  as  he  was 
in  the  lowest  depths  of  debauchery,  Louis  was  a  constant 
prey  to  religious  terrors,  and  the  idea  of  an  alliance  be- 
tween the  two  great  Catholic  Powers,  which  might  deal 
a  death-blow  to  Protestantism  in  Europe,  appealed  to 
his  superstitious  and  bigoted  mind  as  a  work  capable  of 
redeeming  all  his  sins,  past,  present,  and  future.  "  He 
was  persuaded,"  says  Henri  Martin,  "  that  a  king  who 
sustained  the  cause  of  the  Church  could  not  be  damned 
for  his  private  sins.  He  dreamed  of  a  holy  war  from  the 
recesses  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs."  ^ 

But  Louis  had  no  desire  that  his  Ministers  should  be 
informed  of  what  was  going  forward,  and  was  unwilling 
to  treat  with  Stahremberg  in  person.  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour, however,  had  anticipated  this  difficulty,  and  had 
an  agent  of  her  own  ready  to  hand  in  the  person  of  the 
Abbe  de  Bernis,  lately  returned  from  his  embassy  to 
Venice.  The  abb6  was  greatly  changed  from  the  days 
when  he  shared  a  suit  of  clothes  with  a  friend  and  was 
called  "  Babet."  He  no  longer  attended  the  play ;  he 
no  longer  wrote  amatory  poetry ;  history,  philosophy, 
and  politics  occupied  his  time,  and  so  indefatigable  a 
worker  had  he  become,  that  he  barely  allowed  himself 
five  hours  for  sleep.  He  had,  in  short,  developed  ambi- 
tions and,  as  he  tells  us,  "  wished  to  gradually  accustom 
the  public  to  regard  him  as  a  man  of  understanding  and 
a  fit  person  to  be  entrusted  with  the  direction  of  affairs." 
While    at   Venice,    he    had   won    golden    opinions   from 

^  Martin's  H'lsto'ire  de  France^  xv.  492. 
299 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

every  one,  and  had,  besides,  rendered  good  service  to 
France  by  bringing  to  light  a  secret  treaty  between  the 
Courts  of  Sardinia  and  Spain,  and  by  the  discovery  of 
some  intrigues  at  the  Escurial,  which  had  entirely  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  Due  de  Duras,  the  French  Ambassador 
at  Madrid. 

Bernis  has  frequently  been  accused  of  having  espoused 
the  cause  of  Austria  against  Prussia  through  personal 
pique  against  Frederick,  who,  in  an  "  Epistle  "  to  Count 
Gotter,  had  spoken  sarcastically  of  the  abbe's  poetical 
efforts ;  and  this  was  so  generally  believed  at  the  time 
that  Turgot,  in  some  satirical  verses  that  he  wrote  and 
circulated  in  Paris,  with  the  object  of  showing  the 
disasters  that  the  Seven  Years'  War  was  bringing  upon 
the  country,  inquires  : — 

"  Bernis,  est-ce  assez  de  victlmes  ? 
Et  les  mepris  d'un  roi  pour  vos  petites  rimes 
Vous  semblent-ils  assez  venges  ?  "  ^ 

But  a  grave  injustice  has  been  done  Bernis,  who  seems 
to  have  been  both  an  amiable  and  a  well-meaning  man, 
in  supposing  that  his  conduct  in  this  matter  was  dictated 
by  so  mean  and  contemptible  a  motive.  Duclos  declares 
that  when  Madame  de  Pompadour  first  opened  her  mind 
to  the  abb6  on  the  subject  of  the  Austrian  alliance,  the 
latter  did  everything  in  his  power  to  dissuade  her,  and 
only  yielded  against  his  better  judgment ;  and  Duclos's 
account  is  confirmed  by  Frederick  himself  in  his  Memoirs, 
wherein  he  blames  Bernis  for  his  weakness  in  consenting 
to  make  himself  responsible  for  a  policy  of  the  expedi- 
ency of  which  he  was  more  than  doubtful,  but  commends 
him  for  his  honest  endeavours  to  put  a  stop  to  the  war 

1   Sainte-Beuve's  Causerles  du  Lundi,  viii.   15. 
300 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

the  moment  he  fully  comprehended  the  fatal  conse- 
quences which  it  must  inevitably  entail  upon  France/ 
Bernis,  in  fact,  who  was  naturally  of  a  cautious  disposi- 
tion, and  almost  superstitiously  attached  to  the  old 
French  political  system  and  the  anti-Austrian  policy, 
shrank  from  lending  himself  to  the  undoing  of  the  work 
of  Richelieu.  He  saw  that  an  alliance  with  the  Court  of 
Vienna  would  arouse  suspicion  among  the  smaller  Ger- 
man States,  who  had  hitherto  regarded  France  as  their 
protector  and  the  guarantor  of  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia. 
He  saw  that  in  the  near  future  France  must  inevitably 
be  drawn  into  a  war  of  which  she  would  be  required  to 
bear  the  burden,  while  Austria  would  reap  the  profit. 
He  saw,  too — and  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  his  patroness — 
that,  in  the  event  of  an  unfortunate  issue,  it  would  be 
upon  herself  that  the  brunt  of  the  popular  resentment 
and  the  displeasure  of  the  King  would  certainly  fail. 

But  all  was  in  vain.  Madame  de  Pompadour,  having 
put  her  hand  to  the  plough,  was  not  one  to  turn  back  ; 
and  Bernis,  either  because  his  political  ambitions  were 
stronger  than  his  principles,  or,  perhaps,  because  he  still 
hoped  to  act  as  a  moderating  influence,  consented  to 
confer  with  Stahremberg. 

The  three  negotiators,  the  abbe,  the  Ambassador,  and 
the  marchioness,  met  on  September  22,  1755,  at  a 
little  pleasure-house  belonging  to  Madame  de  Pompadour 
at  the  bottom  of  the  gardens  of  Bellevue,  called  Babiole 
(the  Bauble) — "  a  name  well  chosen  for  the  scene  of  that 
intrigue,  where  the  vanity  of  a  courtesan  disposed  of  the 
fate  of  Europe."  Stahremberg's  proposal  was  a  vast  and 
daring  plan  ;  nothing  less  than  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Continent.    Austria  was  to  recover  Silesia  and  the  Duchy 

^   Sainte-Beuve's  Causer'ies  du  Lundi,  viii.  16. 
301 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

of  Parma,  in  return  for  which  she  was  for  ever  to  re- 
nounce the  English  alliance  and  to  cede  Belgium  to  the 
Infant  Don  Philip,  Louis  XV. 's  son-in-law,  with  the 
exception  of  the  town  of  Mons,  which  was  to  be  given  to 
France.  Luxembourg,  the  Gibraltar  of  Belgium,  was  to 
be  dismantled,  Pomerania  was  to  be  restored  to  Sweden. 
The  crown  of  Poland  (conformable  to  the  plan  of  the 
Marquis  d'Argenson)  was  to  be  rendered  hereditary  in 
the  House  of  Saxony,  while  the  liberties  of  Poland  in  all 
other  respects  were  to  be  maintained  intact.  These 
terms,  the  Ambassador  pointed  out,  would  be  highly 
advantageous  to  France.  Having  a  great  Power  for  an 
ally,  she  would  no  longer  be  under  the  necessity  of 
exhausting  her  finances  in  order  to  keep  the  petty  States 
of  Germany  in  her  pay,  and  would  have  nothing  more 
to  fear  on  the  Continent,  as  leagued  with  Austria  and 
Spain  she  might  dictate  the  law  to  Europe.^ 

These  specious  and  dangerous  proposals  alarmed  Bernis, 
and,  unwilling  to  incur  any  further  responsibility  in  the 
matter,  he  sought  an  audience  of  the  King  and  begged 
him  to  lay  them  before  the  Council;  but  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  fearing  the  opposition  of  d'Argenson,  who 
had  strong  Prussian  predilections,  and  also  of  Puisieux 
and  Saint-Severin,  who,  having  been  in  a  great  measure 
responsible  for  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  inclined  to 
the  same  side,  persuaded  Louis  to  exclude  them  from  the 
meeting.  Even  then,  however,  the  feeling  of  the  Council 
was  distinctly  unfavourable  to  the  Austrian  scheme  ;  and 
Bernis,  who,  though  not  yet  a  member,  had  been  sum- 
moned to  take  part  in  the  deliberations,  seized  the 
opportunity  to  suggest  a  compromise,  which,  after  some 
discussion,   was    adopted.      This    consisted  of   a   simple 

1  Martin's  Hlstolre  de  France,  xv.  492, 
302 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

guarantee  between  France,  Austria,  and  Prussia  for  their 
European  possessions,  exempting  the  existing  war  with 
England  and  leaving  France  free  to  act  against  Hanover. 
An  envoy  was  despatched  to  the  Empress  to  offer  it  to 
her  as  an  alternative  to  her  proposals,  while  the  Due  de 
Nivernois,  with  an  imposing  suite,  set  out  for  Berlin  to 
secure  Frederick's  adhesion. 

Maria  Theresa  was  naturally  intensely  disgusted  with 
such  a  tame  ending  to  her  projects  of  revenge.  She  at 
first  absolutely  refused  to  even  consider  it ;  but  Kaunitz 
pointed  out  that,  regarded  as  a  starting-point,  it  was  not 
without  its  advantages,  affording  as  it  did  a  guarantee 
against  a  Franco-Prussian  attack,  while  Frederick  would 
be  sure  sooner  or  later  to  furnish  Austria  with  some 
pretext  for  breaking  the  engagements  concerning  himself. 
Very  reluctantly  the  Empress  yielded,  and  instructions 
were  about  to  be  sent  to  Stahremberg  to  sign  the  agree- 
ment, when  news  from  Berlin  effected  a  fatal  change  in 
everything. 

Rebuffed  by  Austria,  the  English  Government,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  appealed  to  Prussia.  Here  they  were 
more  successful.  Frederick  had  never  for  a  moment 
deluded  himself  with  the  idea  that  Maria  Theresa  would 
tamely  resign  herself  to  the  loss  of  Silesia,  and  he  had 
long  been  preparing  to  resist  the  attack  which  he  knew 
was  inevitable.  He  had  no  particular  desire  to  renew 
his  alliance  with  France,  partly  because  he  was  extremely 
unwilling  that  the  French  should  make  themselves 
supreme  in  Germany,  and  partly  because  his  participation 
in  their  hostile  designs  against  Hanover  would  expose 
him  to  three  separate  attacks  —  from  Austria,  from 
England  through  the  Electorate,  and  from  Russia,  fifty 
thousand  of  whose  troops  had  recently  been  taken  into 

303 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

English  pay  to  defend  Hanover  in  case  of  invasion.  On 
the  other  hand,  by  accepting  the  overtures  of  the  Court 
of  St.  James's,  he  would  rid  himself  of  two  formidable 
enemies — England  herself  and  Russia  ;  for  Russia  he 
considered  could  not  possibly  go  to  war  without  sub- 
sidies, and  Austria  was  not  in  a  position  to  subsidise 
anybody.  His  decision  was  soon  made  ;  and  on  January 
1 6,  1756,  a  Convention  of  Neutrality  was  signed  at 
Westminster,  by  which  England  and  Prussia  bound 
themselves  to  unite  their  forces  against  "any  foreign 
Power  that  might  introduce  troops  into  Germany," 

A  few  days  after  the  signature  of  this  treaty,  the  Due 
de  Nivernois,  the  French  envoy,  arrived  at  Berlin.  Now 
the  duke  was  not  only  a  great  nobleman ;  he  was  also  a 
poet  and  sat  among  the  "  immortal  forty."  At  their 
first  audience  Frederick  begged  him  to  recite  some  of  his 
verses,  a  request  with  which  he  readily  complied.  The 
King  appeared  highly  pleased  and  remarked,  with  a  smile, 
"  I  will  now  show  you  a  piece  of  my  own  composition," 
saying  which  he  produced  a  bulky  document  and  handed 
it  to  the  astonished  envoy.  It  was  the  draft  of  the 
Convention  of  Westminster.^ 

Frederick  protested  that  it  was  with  no  hostile  inten- 
tions against  France  that  he  had  entered  into  this 
engagement,  and  that  his  only  object  had  been  to  preserve 
Germany  from  war ;  but  Louis  XV.  was  as  much 
offended  "as  if  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  had  been  the 
rebellious  vassal  of  the  French  crown."  The  Court  of 
Vienna  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  were  not  slow  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  opening  thus  afforded,  and  though 
Machault  and  d'Argenson,  acting  for  once  in  concert, 
disputed  the  ground  inch   by  inch,  their  warnings  and 

1  The  Due  de  Broglie's  Le  Secret  du  Roi,  i.  I2i. 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

remonstrances  were  unheeded;  and  on  May  i,  1756, 
Stahremberg,  on  behalf  of  Austria,  and  Bernis,  on  behalf 
of  France,  signed  the  First  Treaty  of  Versailles.^ 

By  this  treaty  Austria  and  France  bound  themselves  to 
guarantee  and  defend  each  other's  possessions  in  Europe. 
Should  the  territories  of  either  be  threatened  with  inva- 
sion, the  other  was  to  send  to  her  assistance  a  force  of 
24,000  men — to  wit,  1 8,000  infantry  and  6000  cavalry;  or, 
at  the  option  of  the  party  attacked,  8000  German  florins 
per  month  for  each  thousand  of  the  former,  and  24,000 
florins  for  each  thousand  of  the  latter.  It  was,  of  course,  a 
purely  defensive  alliance  and,  to  all  appearance,  a  perfectly 
legitimate  one,  in  view  of  the  convention  recently  con- 
cluded between  England  and  Prussia ;  but  the  Court  of 
Vienna  had  not  the  least  intention  that  matters  should 
be  allowed  to  stop  here,  and  regarded  it  merely  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  a  closer  union.  A  few  days  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  treaty  we  find  Stahremberg  writing  to 
Kaunitz : — 

"  I  believe  that  it  would  be  very  advisable  if  Your 
Excellency  could  see  your  way  to  insert  in  the  first  letter 
you  do  me  the  honour  to  write  to  me  a  few  lines  that  I 
might  show  to  Madame  de  Pompadour.  We  have  never 
had  greater  need  of  her  good  offices  than  we  have  at  the 
present  moment,  and  1  should  be  very  glad  if,  in  addition 
to  the  personal  compliments  of  Your  Excellency,  there 
were  something  to  mark  the  gratitude  and  esteem  which 
the  Court  and  the  Ministry  entertain  for  her.  It  is  certain 
that  it  is  to  her  that  we  owe  everything,  and  that  it  is  to 
her  that  we  must  look  in  the  future.     She  is  desirous  of 

1  Although  called  the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  it  was  actually  signed  at 
Jouy,  a  country-house  belonging  to  Rouille,  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs. 

305  u 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

gaining  our  esteem,  and,  in  truth,  she  deserves  it.     I  shall        | 
have  more  frequent  and  more  private  interviews  with  her         ^ 
when  our  alliance  is  no  longer  a  secret.      I  should  like  to 
have,  when  that  time  arrives,  something  to  tell  her  which 
will  be  gratifying  to  her  vanity." 

Kaunitz  lost  no  time  in  acting  upon  the  Ambassador's 
suggestion,  and  wrote,  not  "  a  few  lines  which  might  be 
shown  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,"  but  a  most  flattering 
epistle  to  the  lady  herself. 

"The  Count  von  Kaunitz-Rietberg  to  Madame 
DE  Pompadour. 

"  Ail  that  has  been  concluded  up  to  the  present  be- 
tween the  two  Courts,  madame,  is  entirely  due  to  your 
zeal  and  sagacity.  I  am  sensible  of  it ;  and  I  should 
be  denying  myself  a  pleasure  were  I  not  to  assure  you 
of  my  feelings,  and  to  thank  you  for  having  consented 
to  aid  me  with  your  counsel  until  this  hour.  I  ought 
not  to  allow  you  to  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that 
Their  Imperial  Majesties  fully  appreciate  your  services, 
and  entertain  for  you  all  the  sentiments  that  you  can 
possibly  desire.  What  has  been  done  ought  to  deserve, 
in  my  opinion,  the  approbation  of  all  fair-minded  men 
and  of  posterity.  But  what  remains  to  be  accomplished 
is  too  important  and  too  worthy  of  you  for  you  to  suffer 
yourself  to  abandon  your  endeavours  to  leave  nothing 
wanting  in  a  work  which  cannot  fail  to  render  you 
ever  dear  to  your  country.  On  that  account,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  you  will  continue  to  devote  yourself  to  an 
object  of  so  much  importance.  In  that  case,  I  look 
upon  success  as  certain,  and  I  already  share  in  anticipa- 
tion the  glory  and  the  satisfaction  that  must  accrue  to 

306 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

you ;  for  assuredly  no  one  can  possibly  be  more  respect- 
fully or  more  sincerely  attached  to  you  than  your  most 
humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 

"Count  von  Kaunitz."  ^ 

The  expectation  of  Kaunitz  was  justified.  Simul- 
taneously with  their  intrigues  at  Versailles,  the  Cabinet 
of  Vienna  had  been  carrying  on  negotiations  with  the 
Czarina  Elizabeth — another  victim  of  Frederick's  caustic 
wit — for  an  offensive  alliance  against  Prussia ;  and  an 
understanding  had  been  arrived  at  that  hostilities  should 
commence  in  the  early  spring  of  1757.  Frederick, 
aware  of  the  designs  of  his  enemies,  resolved  to  anti- 
cipate attack,  and  on  the  29th  of  August  crossed  the 
Saxon  frontier. 

Nine  months  later  France  was  involved  in  a  great 
alliance,  which  had  for  its  object  the  partition  of 
Prussia. 

1  D'Arneth's  Maria  Theresia,  1748-1756,  note  533;  E.  and  J.  de 
Goncourt's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  1 70. 


307 


CHAPTER     XVI 

Damlens's  attempt  to  assassinate  Louis  XV. — The  King  be- 
haves as  if  mortally  wounded — He  is  reassured  by  an  old 
servant — Madame  de  Pompadour  in  suspense — Machault,  the 
Keeper  of  the  Seals,  brings  her  an  order  from  the  King  to 
retire  from  Court — The  Marechale  de  Mirepoix  prevails  upon 
her  to  remain — The  King  recovers  and  returns  to  the  mar- 
chioness—D'Argenson's  diplomacy — Bernis  again  endeavours 
to  induce  him  to  be  reconciled  to  Madame  de  Pompadour — 
But  again  fails — Interview  between  the  marchioness  and  the 
Minister — "  Either  you  or  I  will  have  to  go! " — The  favourite 
in  a  reflective  mood — The  King  pays  her  a  visit — The  tyranny 
of  tears — Disgrace  and  exile  of  Machault  and  d'Argenson — 
Disastrous  consequences  of  their  dismissal  at  such  a  time — Trial 
of  Damiens — His  terrible  punishment. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1757  an  event 
occurred  which  for  a  moment  seriously  threatened  the 
position  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  but  which  ulti- 
mately left  her  more  powerful  than  ever. 

About  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  of 
January,  Louis  XV.  was  descending  the  steps  of  the 
Marble  Court,  with  the  intention  of  going  to  sup  at 
Trianon.  He  had  reached  the  last  step,  when  he  felt 
something  strike  him  on  the  right  side,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Some  one  has  struck  me  with  his  elbow  !  "  At  the 
same  moment  his  attendants  noticed  a  middle-aged  man, 
dressed  in  a  brown  suit  and  wearing  a  redingote  of  the 

308 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

same  colour,  who,  while  every  one  else  had  uncovered, 
continued  to  wear  his  hat.  The  Dauphin,  who  accom- 
panied his  father,  said  sharply,  "  Do  you  not  see  the 
King  ? "  and  a  guard-du-corps,  stepping  forward,  snatched 
the  offender's  hat  from  his  head.  Scarcely  had  he  done 
so,  when  Louis,  who  had  put  his  hand  to  the  place  where 
he  had  felt  the  blow,  brought  it  away  covered  with 
blood,  and  cried  out,  "  I  am  wounded,  and  it  is  that 
man  who  has  struck  me  !  Arrest  him,  but  do  him 
no  harm  ! " 

The  man  was  promptly  seized  and  searched,  when  a 
large  clasp-knife  was  discovered  in  one  of  the  pockets 
of  his  redingote.  On  one  side  of  it  was  a  long,  pointed 
blade,  shaped  like  a  dagger ;  on  the  other  a  kind  of  pen- 
knife, about  four  inches  in  length.  It  was  the  smaller 
blade  with  which  the  blow  had  been  struck. 

The  King,  though  his  wound  was  bleeding  freely, 
remounted  the  steps,  and  walked  to  his  apartments, 
where  he  lay  down  on  the  bed  ;  while  the  frightened 
courtiers  rushed  hither  and  thither  in  search  of  surgeons. 
All  the  ladies  of  the  Royal  Family  came  flocking  into  the 
room,  and  filled  the  air  with  their  lamentations.  The 
Dauphiness  fainted  ;  Madame  Adelaide  "seemed  like  one 
demented  "  ;  the  Oueen  alone  retained  her  composure. 

The  King's  own  surgeon,  Martiniere,  happened  to  be 
at  Trianon  ;  but,  after  some  delay,  Hevin,  surgeon-in- 
ordinary  to  the  Dauphin,  was  fetched,  and  proceeded 
to  bleed  the  unfortunate  patient.  Professional  etiquette 
apparently  forbade  him  to  make  any  examination  of 
the  wound  until  Martiniere  arrived  on  the  scene,  when 
it  was  found  to  be  a  trifling  one,  the  force  of  the 
blow  having  been  broken  by  the  thick  winter  clothes 
that   the   King   was   wearing.       Louis,    however,    was   m 

309 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

abject  terror  lest  the  weapon  should  have  been  poisoned, 
and  comported  himself  as  if  he  had  only  a  few  hours 
to  live.  He  said  to  the  Dauphin,  "  You  are  Lieutenant- 
General  of  the  kingdom,  preside  at  the  Council,  and 
govern  better  than  I  have."  He  gave  d'Argenson  the 
key  of  his  cabinet  at  Trianon,  and  despatched  him  to 
fetch  his  private  papers.  He  sent  for  the  nearest  con- 
fessor, and  caused  absolution  to  be  given  him  "  over 
and  over  agam,  five  or  six  times " ;  and  all  through 
the  night  Father  Desmarets,  his  Jesuit  confessor,  and 
two  other  priests  watched  in  turn  by  the  royal  bed- 
side, ready  to  administer  extreme  unction  at  the  first 
sign  of  a  change  for  the  worse. 

The  King  kept  his  bed  for  several  days,  and  there 
is  no  saying  how  long  he  might  not  have  remained 
there — for  he  persisted  in  believing  that  the  wound 
was  a  mortal  one,  though  the  only  inconvenience  he 
appears  to  have  suffered  was  that  of  having  to  lie  on 
his  left  side,  instead  of  on  his  right,  as  was  his  habit — had 
it  not  been  for  the  timely  interference  of  an  old  soldier 
named  Landsmath,  who  had  been  in  attendance  on  the 
King  since  his  childhood  and  was  permitted  to  speak 
his  mind  freely. 

This  war-worn  veteran  could  hardly  conceal  his  con- 
tempt at  all  the  fuss  his  master  was  making  about  what 
he  regarded  as  a  mere  pin-prick,  and  one  day  when  the 
ladies  of  the  Royal  Family  were  sobbing  round  the  bed, 
he  lost  all  patience,  and,  stooping  over  the  sick  monarch, 
whispered  to  him — 

"  Order  all  these  weeping  women  to  leave  the  room. 
Sire.  They  do  you  nothing  but  harm.  I  must  speak  to 
you. 

The  King  made  a  sign  that  the  ladies  should  retire, 

310 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

and,  with  many  reproachful  glances  at  Landsmath,  they 
reluctantly  obeyed. 

When  they  were  alone,  the  old  man  said  to  the  mon- 
arch, "Sire,  your  wound  is  a  mere  trifle;  the  force  of 
the  blow  was  broken  by  the  waistcoat  and  underclothes 
you  were  wearing." 

Then,  bearing  his  brawny  chest,  he  pointed  to  several 
terrible  scars,  observing,  with  a  grim  smile,  "  There,  Sire, 
those  are  the  kind  of  blows  to  be  frightened  at !  They 
are  something  like  wounds.  I  received  them  thirty  years 
ago,  and  here  I  am  alive  and  well." 

He  next  insisted  on  the  King  sitting  up  in  bed,  which 
Louis  did,  and,  to  his  intense  surprise,  found  that  he 
could  do  so  quite  easily. 

"  Now,  you  see,  Sire,"  continued  Landsmath,  "  that 
those  idiots  have  deceived  you.  You  will  soon  be  per- 
fectly well.  Four  days  hence  we  shall  be  able  to  go  out 
hunting." 

"  But,  my  good  Landsmath,"  objected  the  King,  much 
more  reassured  than  he  cared  to  confess  ;  "  suppose  the 
knife  should  have  been  poisoned  .? " 

"  Old  wives'  tales,  Sire  !  "  answered  the  veteran,  with 
a  contemptuous  shrug  of  his  shoulders.  "  Even  if  that 
had  been  the  case,  the  poison  would  have  been  rubbed 
off  the  blade  as  it  passed  through  your  waistcoat  and 
underclothes." 

Louis  now  began  to  feel  that  he  had  been  unnecessarily 
alarmed,  and,  accordingly,  for  the  first  time  since  his 
illness,  composed  himself  to  enjoy  a  sound  night's  rest ; 
while  the  triumphant  Landsmath,  after  closing  the  bed- 
curtains,  stalked  into  the  ante-chamber,  which  was 
crowded  with  priests,  doctors,  and  weeping  ladies,  and 
cried  out : — 

3" 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

"  The  King  desires  to  sleep.  See  that  none  of  you 
venture  to  disturb  him." 

A  day  or  two  later  Louis  announced  himself  as  con- 
valescent. 

All  the  time  that  the  King  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests  and  the  doctors,  Madame  de  Pompadour  re- 
mained in  her  apartments  in  an  agony  of  suspense. 
Without,  under  her  windows,  were  angry  crowds,  who 
threatened  "  la  coquine  du  roi^''  as  they  called  her,  with 
death  ;  within,  she  had  to  endure  the  pitiless  curiosity 
of  all  .Versailles,  which  flocked  to  her  room  ostensibly 
to  tender  her  its  sympathy,  in  reality  to  gloat  over  her 
sufferings.  "  She  wept  and  fainted,  and  fainted  and 
wept  again."  In  vain  did  the  faithful  Bernis,  the 
Duchesse  de  Brancas,  and  the  little  Marechale  de  Mire- 
poix  endeavour  to  comfort  her.  In  vain  did  her  phy- 
sician, Quesnay,  who,  in  virtue  of  his  post  as  surgeon-in- 
ordinary  to  the  King,  was  admitted  to  the  sick-room, 
assure  her  that  the  wound  was  so  slight,  that  if  the 
patient  were  a  private  individual,  he  might  go  to  a  ball 
with  impunity.  She  knew  the  feeble  character  of  her 
former  lover  and  the  hatred  with  which  she  was  re- 
garded too  well  to  disguise  from  herself  the  danger 
which  threatened  her.  Nor  were  her  fears  groundless  ; 
a  very  shrewd  observer  was  already  anticipating  her 
fall. 

"  It  is  a  fact,"  writes  the  Marquis  d'Argenson  on 
January  15,  "that  since  the  attempted  assassination  of 
the  King,  the  marchioness  has  not  seen  his  Majesty  for 
a  moment.  She  pretends  not  to  feel  her  disgrace,  but 
little  by  little  people  are  forsaking  her.  She  has  neither 
seen  nor  received  any  message  from  his  Majesty,  who 

312 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

does  not  appear  to  give  her  a  thought.  All  this  time 
the  King  is  having  daily  interviews  with  Father  Des- 
marets,  and  has  made  many  affectionate  and  virtuous 
declarations  to  the  Queen.  All  this  means  a  great 
change  at  Court."  ^  Father  Desmarets  indeed,  like  a 
true  son  of  Loyola,  had  made  the  most  of  his  opportuni- 
ties, as  we  shall  presently  see. 

Rouille,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Saint- 
Florentin,  now  Comptroller-General,  came  frequently  to 
see  Madame  de  Pompadour  during  these  dark  days,  and 
showed  no  inclination  to  abandon  her  ;  but  Machault, 
the  Keeper  of  the  Seals,  her  friend  and  confidant,  whom 
she  had  raised  to  his  present  position,  and  whom  she  had 
intended  to  make  Prime  Minister,  did  not  come.  He 
was  the  only  man  who  was  able  to  reassure  her,  and  his 
absence  confirmed  her  worst  suspicions.  One  morning 
Madame  du  Hausset's  son,  who  had  been  sent  by  his 
mother  to  find  out  what  was  going  on  in  the  royal 
apartments,  returned  and  reported  that  Machault  was 
closeted  with  the  King.  Now  it  had  apparently  been 
Machault's  custom,  on  the  occasions  when  Madame  de 
Pompadour  had  not  been  present  at  his  interviews  with 
the  King,  and  any  business  of  importance  had  been  dis- 
cussed, to  wait  upon  his  patroness  immediately  after- 
wards and  give  her  a  resume  of  what  had  taken  place. 
She,  therefore,  judged  that,  if  he  were  still  faithful,  he 
would  do  so  on  the  present  occasion,  and  requested 
Madame  du  Hausset  to  send  her  son  back,  with  instruc- 
tions to  take  particular  note  of  what  the  Minister  did 
on  leaving  the  King.  Presently  the  boy  returned  with 
the  intelligence  that  the  Keeper  of  the  Seals  had  gone  to 
his  house,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  people,  which  seemed 

1   Meinolres  du  Marquis  d* Argenson^  iv.  33 1. 
313 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  indicate  that  something  of  importance  was  about  to 
take  place.  On  this  being  told  to  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, she  burst  into  tears,  and  exclaimed,  "  Is  that  the 
conduct  of  a  friend  ?  " 

Bernis  endeavoured  to  calm  her,  and  begged  her  not 
to  judge  the  Minister  too  hastily,  but  all  doubts  as  to  the 
latter's  perfidy  were  soon  dispelled. 

The  abbe  went  out  to  make  inquiries  about  the 
King.  Scarcely  had  the  door  closed  behind  him,  when 
the  Keeper  of  the  Seals  walked  in.  He  looked  stern 
and  severe,  and  was  evidently  the  bearer  of  no  pleasant 
tidings. 

"  How  is  Madame  de  Pompadour  .?  "  he  inquired  coldly 
of  Madame  du  Hausset. 

"  Alas  !  "  replied  she,  "  as  you  may  imagine." 

He  passed  on  to  the  marchioness's  closet,  and  every 
one  went  out,  leaving  him  alone  with  his  patroness.  The 
interview  lasted  half-an-hour,  during  which  those  in  the 
salon  could  hardly  contain  their  excitement.  At  length, 
Machault  came  out  and  took  his  departure,  without 
speaking  to  any  one. 

A  few  minutes  later  Madame  de  Pompadour's  bell 
rang.  Her  waiting-woman  hastened  to  answer  it,  fol- 
lowed by  Bernis,  who  had  returned  while  Machault  was 
with  the  favourite.  They  found  the  marchioness  weeping 
bitterly.  "  I  must  go,  my  dear  abb6,"  she  said,  in  a  voice 
choked  with  sobs. 

Madame  du  Hausset  made  her  take  some  orange- 
flower  water  in  a  silver  goblet,  for  her  teeth  chattered 
so  much  that  they  would  have  broken  a  glass ;  and, 
after  a  time,  she  grew  calmer  and  requested  that  her 
equerry  might  be  called.  When  he  appeared,  she  gave 
him   orders   to  have   everything    prepared   at   her    hotel 

314 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

in  Paris ;  to  tell  all  her  people  to  get  ready  to  leave, 
and  to  desire  her  coachman  to  be  at  hand.  She  then 
directed  that  no  one  should  be  admitted  but  her  most 
intimate  friends,  and  shut  herself  up  to  confer  with 
Bernis. 

All  was  bustle  and  confusion,  when  the  door  was 
flung  open  and  the  little  Marechale  de  Mirepoix  ap- 
peared on  the  threshold. 

"  What  are  all  these  trunks  doing,  madame  ? "  she 
exclaimed,  pointing  to  the  boxes  and  packing-cases 
which  littered  the  floor  of  the  ante-chamber.  "  Your 
people  tell  me  you  are  going." 

"  Alas !   my  dear  friend,  such  is   our  master's  desire, 
as  M.  de  Machault  gives  me  to  understand." 
"  And  what  does  he  advise  V 
"That  I  should  go  without  delay.'* 
"  Your  Keeper  of  the  Seals  wants  to  get  the  power 
into  his  own  hands,    and    is    betraying    you,"   answered 
the  shrewd  little  mard;chale.      "  He  who  quits  the  field 
loses  it." 

At  these  words  Madame  de  Pompadour's  courage 
returned ;  and,  after  an  animated  discussion,  in  which 
Bernis,  Soubise,  and  her  brother  Marigny  took  part, 
it  was  decided  that  she  should  remain  and  await 
events. 

"  She  intends  to  stay,"  said  Marigny,  in  answer  to 
Madame  du  Hausset's  eager  inquiries  ;  "  but  hush  !  she 
will  make  an  appearance  of  leaving,  in  order  not  to  set 
her  enemies  at  work.  It  is  the  little  marechale  who  has 
prevailed  upon  her  to  remain.  Her  Keeper  (Machault) 
will  pay  for  all  this."  ^ 

Madame    de    Mirepoix    proved     a    wise     counsellor. 

1   Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.   1825),  p.   139  f/  seq. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

Scarcely  was  Louis  restored  to  health  than  he  forgot 
all  about  the  vows  of  amendment  he  had  made  with 
the  fear  of  the  Evil  One  before  his  eyes,  resumed  all 
his  former  habits,  and  recommenced  his  daily  visits  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour.  As  for  that  lady,  no  sooner 
did  she  find  herself  in  favour  once  more  than  she 
determined  to  be  revenged  upon  the  faithless  Machault, 
and  treated  him  in  so  insolent  a  manner  that  every  one 
was  agreed  that  his  disgrace  was  only  a  question  of 
days. 

Poor  Machault  seems  to  have  been  deserving  of  some 
sympathy.  It  would  appear  that  the  Jesuit  confessor, 
Desmarets,  by  the  same  arguments  which  had  proved 
so  efficacious  on  a  similar  occasion,  had  extracted  from 
the  King  a  promise  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  should 
be  sent  away,  and  that  d'Argenson  had  been  deputed 
to  announce  the  royal  commands  to  the  lady.  This 
mission  was  not  at  all  to  the  taste  of  the  War  Minister, 
who  was  aware  that  Louis  was  in  no  danger,  and  foresaw 
a  repetition  of  the  holocaust  of  Metz,  with  himself 
as  the  principal  victim.  He,  accordingly,  represented 
to  the  King,  that,  since  he  (d'Argenson)  had  had  the 
misfortune  to  displease  the  marchioness,  it  would  be 
kinder  to  let  Machault  be  the  bearer  of  the  ill-tidings, 
so  that  the  consolation  he  would  be  able  to  offer  might 
soften  the  blow.  Louis  assented,  and  Machault  found 
himself  confronted  with  the  alternative  of  either  dis- 
obeying the  King  or  displeasing  his  patroness.  He 
chose  the  latter  course — ambition  was  stronger  than 
gratitude — and  d'Argenson  was  now  rubbing  his  hands 
with  glee  at  the  prospect  of  the  speedy  disgrace  of  his 
only  serious  rival  in  the  Council.  Unfortunately  for 
him,  his  intense  hatred  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  not 

^i6 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

only  robbed  him  of  the  fruits  of  what,  it  must  be 
admitted,  was  a  very  adroit  manoeuvre,  but  brought  about 
his  own  fall. 

At  the  end  of  January,  that  is  to  say  about  three 
weeks  after  the  attempt  upon  the  King's  life,  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  at  the  urgent  entreaty  of  Bernis,  who 
pointed  out  how  essential  it  was  to  the  proper  con- 
duct of  the  war  that  the  hostility  between  the  War 
Minister  and  herself  should  cease,  consented  to  allow 
him  to  propose  a  reconciliation  or,  at  least,  a  truce  to 
d'Argenson ;  but  his  efforts  met  with  no  better  suc- 
cess than  had  attended  them  eighteen  months  before. 
D'Argenson,  who  appears  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  the  marchioness  was  now  completely  restored  to 
favour,  refused  to  see  in  Bernis's  ofFer  "  anything  but 
the  last  efforts  of  a  person  who  feels  herself  drowning, 
and  catches  hold  of  any  support  within  reach."  The 
abbe  vainly  endeavoured  to  reason  with  him,  arguing 
that  he  would  be  risking  nothing  by  informing  the 
King  that  he  had  become  reconciled  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour  solely  out  of  respect  for  his  Majesty  and  the 
welfare  of  the  State  ;  that  such  a  reconciliation  would  not 
prevent  the  King  from  getting  rid  of  the  marchioness 
if  such  was  his  desire,  and  that,  so  far  from  the  lady 
having  prompted  the  overtures  he  was  now  making  him, 
it  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  she  had 
been  brought  to  consent  to  them.  All  was  useless  ; 
d'Argenson  only  laughed  contemptuously ;  and  Bernis 
was  compelled  to  return  to  the  favourite  and  report  the 
entire  failure  of  his  mission.^ 

Now  it  happened  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  had 
lately  advised  Janelle,  the  Intendant  of  the  Post-Office, 

^  Memotres  et  Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  i.  367. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  omit  from  the  copies  of  the  opened  letters  which 
he  took  every  week  to  the  King  all  mention  of  the 
attempted  assassination,  Janelle  had  promised  to  do  so ; 
but  he  did  not  dare  to  keep  the  matter  a  secret  from 
d'Argenson/  who  flew  into  a  violent  passion  and  told 
the  unfortunate  Intendant  to  choose  between  the  mar- 
chioness and  the  Bastille.  On  hearing  what  had  taken 
place  between  Bernis  and  the  War  Minister,  the  favourite 
decided  to  go  herself  to  d'Argenson  and  demand  an 
explanation  of  his  treatment  of  Janelle.  If  he  received 
her  courteously,  she  might  still  hope  for  a  reconciliation ; 
if  not,  she  was  fully  resolved  that  he,  as  well  as  Machault, 
should  be  disgraced.  Accordingly,  the  following  morn- 
ing, she  ordered  her  sedan-chair,  and  told  the  bearers  to 
take  her  to  the  War  Minister's  hotel. 

Bd:senval  gives  the  following  account  of  the  inter- 
view : — 

"  Madame  de  Pompadour. — '  I  am  surprised,  monsieur, 
at  the  orders  which  you  have  given  Janelle.  I  cannot 
conceive  what  your  reason  can  be  for  wishing  to  bring 
to  the  King's  notice  a  matter  the  remembrance  of  which 
is  so  painful  for  him.' 

"  jy  Argenson. — '  Madame,  I  am  obliged  to  let  the  King 
know  the  truth,  and  no  consideration  can  make  me 
depart  from  my  duty.' 

'■'■Madame  de  Pompadour. — '  Excellent  principles,  doubt- 
less !  But  you  will  permit  me  to  tell  you  that  they  are 
out  of  place  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  and  that 
the  tranquillity  of  the  King  is  so  important  that  all 
other  considerations  should  give  way  to   it.     I  did  not 

1  On  the  dismissal  of  Maurepas  in  April  1749,  d'Argenson  had  be- 
come Minister  for  Paris,  still,  of  course,  retaining  his  post  as  Minister  for 
War.      As  Minister  for  Paris  the  Post-Office  was  within  his  jurisdiction. 

318 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

speak  to  Janelle  until  I  had  consulted  all  the  other 
Ministers.' 

'"'■  ly Argenson.  —  'I  shall  not  change  my  opinion, 
madame ;  and  I  am  astonished  that  you,  who  have  no 
authority  whatever  to  do  so,  should  presume  to  meddle 
with  a  matter  which  concerns  myself  alone.' 

'■'■  Madame  de  Pompadour. — 'For  a  long  time  I  have 
been  aware  of  your  sentiments  with  regard  to  myself. 
I  see  plainly  that  it  is  impossible  to  change  them.  I 
know  not  how  it  will  all  end ;  but  what  is  certain  is 
that  either  you  or  I  will  have  to  go."* 

"  D'Argenson  bowed  and  left  the  room,  without  making 
any  rejoinder."  ^ 

The  marchioness  returned  to  her  apartments  deep 
in  thought.  She  leaned  against  the  chimney-piece,  with 
her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  border  and  her  hands  in 
her  muff,  to  all  appearance  plunged  in  the  most  pro- 
found reverie,  and  quite  unconscious  of  Madame  du 
Hausset,  who  stood  by,  patiently  waiting  to  divest  her 
of  her  cloak  and  hat,  and  dying  with  curiosity  to  know 
what  had  passed  between  her  mistress  and  the  War 
Minister.  Presently  Bernis  entered,  and,  after  watching 
his  patroness  for  some  moments,  exclaimed,  "  You  look 
like  a  sheep  in  a  reflective  mood." 

"  It  is  a  wolf  that  makes  the  sheep  reflect,"  replied 
Madame  de  Pompadour. 

Suddenly  the  door  opened,  and  who  should  appear  on 
the  threshold  but  the  King  himself.  Madame  du  Hausset, 
who  had  retired  to  her  own  room,  heard  her  mistress 
sobbing,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  voice  of  Bernis 
telling  her  to  bring  some  Hoffman's  drops,  Louis 
mixed  the  draught  and  offered  it  to  Madame  de  Pom- 

^  Memoires  du  Baron  de  Besenval,  i,  2iy. 

3»9 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

padour  "  in  the  kindest  manner  possible."  The  lady 
smiled  and  kissed  the  hand  which  held  the  glass.  Two 
days  later  Machault  and  d'Argenson  each  received  a 
lettre  d'ordre.     They  were  as  follows  : — 

"  February  i,  1757. 

"Monsieur  de  Machault, — Although  I  am  per- 
suaded of  your  integrity  and  of  the  honesty  of  your 
intentions,  present  circumstances  oblige  me  to  ask  for 
my  Seals  and  the  resignation  of  your  post  as  Minister  of 
the  Marine.  You  may  be  always  certain  of  my  friend- 
ship and  esteem.  If  you  have  any  favour  to  ask  for 
your  children,  you  may  do  so  at  any  time.  It  is  best 
that  you  should  remain  some  time  at  Arnouville. 

"  Signed,  Louis. 

"  I  allow  you  to  retain  your  Ministerial  pension  of 
20,000  livres,  and  the  honours  attached  to  the  post  of 
Keeper  of  the  Seals." 

^^  February  I,  1757* 

"  Monsieur  d'Argenson, — As  I  no  longer  require 
your  services,  I  request  you  to  send  me  the  resignation 
of  your  post  of  Secretary  of  State  for  War  and  of  your 
other  offices,  and  to  retire  to  your  estate  at  Ormes. 

"Signed,  Louis."  ^ 

It  would  appear  from  the  extremely  curt  manner  in 
which  d'Argenson  was  dismissed  that  the  King  must  have 
had  some  other  cause  of  complaint  against  him  besides 
his  refusal  to  be  reconciled  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
and  several  reasons  have  been  assigned  by  different  con- 
temporary chroniclers.     Bernis's  explanation   is  that,   as 

1  Memoires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  xv.  395. 
320 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Minister  for  Paris,  a  post  which,  as  we  have  mentioned, 
he  held  with  that  of  Secretary  for  War,  d'Argenson  had 
been  guilty  of  culpable  negligence  in  having  refrained 
from  prosecuting  the  authors  of  seditious  placards  and 
pamphlets,  and  that  his  enemies  had  persuaded  Louis 
that  he  had  tolerated  these  disorders,  in  the  hope  of 
intimidating  the  King  into  the  belief  that  his  life  would 
never  be  safe  until  Madame  de  Pompadour  had  been 
sent  away.  Besenval  seems  to  think  that  Louis  would 
not  have  consented  to  dismiss  d'Argenson  had  he  not 
been  already  incensed  against  him  by  the  rather  too 
assiduous  court  which  the  Minister  had  paid  to  the 
Dauphin  when  that  prince  had  assumed  the  reins  of 
government  during  his  father's  illness,  and,  especially, 
by  a  proposal  he  had  made  that  the  Council  should 
meet  henceforth  in  the  Dauphin's  apartments.  A  third 
reason,  and  one  which  we  are  inclined  to  think  is  more 
probable  than  either  of  the  above,  is  given  by  Madame 
du  Hausset. 

According  to  her,  d'Argenson  proposed  to  set  up  a 
rival  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  the  person  of  a  cer- 
tain Madame  d'Esparbes,  a  lady  for  whom  the  King  had 
already  shown  some  tenderness,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  marchioness  had  caused  her  to  be  removed  from  Court. 

The  moment  the  War  Minister  heard  of  the  disgrace 
of  his  rival  Machault,  believing  that  his  removal  would 
leave  him  supreme  in  the  Council,  he  wrote  to  Madame 
d'Esparbes : — 

"  The  doubtful  is  at  length  decided.  The  Keeper  of 
the  Seals  is  dismissed.  You  will  be  recalled,  my  dear 
countess,  and  we  shall  be  masters  of  the  field." 

One  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  agents  got  posses- 
sion   of    this    letter,    by    bribing    the    courier,    and    the 

321  X 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

favourite  took  it,  or  a  copy  of  it,  to  the  King,  who 
was  so  incensed  that  he  there  and  then  sent  d'Argenson 
his  dismissal. 

In  reference  to  the  disgrace  of  Machault,  a  curious 
story  was  current.  It  was  said  that  Machault  was  not 
sacrificed  to  the  resentment  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
as  was  the  general  belief,  but  to  the  amour-propre  of  the 
King,  who  could  not  forgive  him  for  having  been  a 
witness  of  the  craven  fears  which  had  caused  him  to 
consent  to  the  dismissal  of  the  favourite,  and  that  when 
the  latter  demanded  the  exile  of  d'Argenson,  the  King 
replied,  "  Yes,  if  you  consent  to  that  of  M.  de  Machault." 
In  spite  of  the  almost  apologetic  terms  in  which  the  letter 
dismissing  the  Minister  of  Marine  was  couched,  such 
conduct  would  have  been  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
character  of  Louis  XV.,  but  there  happens  to  be  another 
epistle  in  existence — one  written  by  the  King  to  his 
daughter,  the  Infanta  of  Spain — containing  a  passage 
which  effectually  disposes  of  this  theory  :  "  They  have 
worried  me  so  much,  that  they  have  forced  me  to  dismiss 
Machault,  the  man  after  my  own  heart ;  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  console  myself."  ^ 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  true  reasons  for  the 
disgrace  of  the  two  Ministers,  there  can  be  no  question 
that  the  removal  of  the  heads  of  both  the  army  and  the 
navy  on  the  very  eve  of  a  great  continental  and  maritime 
war  was  an  act  of  criminal  folly  for  which  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  parallel  in  French  history.  D'Argenson 
and  Machault,  though  far  from  estimable  men  in  private 
life,  were  capable  Ministers,  and  immeasurably  superior 
to  their  colleagues  in  the  Council.  The  former  had 
rendered  great  service  to  France  during  the  War  of  the 

1   Vie  pr'tvee  de  Louis  XV,,  iv.  21. 
322 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Austrian  Succession,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
would  have  done  so  again  had  the  opportunity  been 
given  him ;  while  Machault  had  lately  been  labouring 
most  strenuously  to  put  the  neglected  navy  in  a  con- 
dition to  encounter  the  English  fleet  on  something  like 
equal  terms.  Their  successors  at  the  War  Office  and  the 
Marine  were  the  most  pitiable  ciphers ;  and  the  disasters 
which  overtook  France  during  the  Seven  Years'  War 
were  largely  the  result  of  the  imbecility  with  which  these 
two  departments  were  administered. 

To  d'Argenson's  honour  it  must  be  recorded  that  he 
left  the  Ministry  almost  as  poor  as  when  he  had  entered 
it,  fourteen  years  before ;  but,  through  the  intercession 
of  old  Marechal  Belle-Isle,  Madame  de  Pompadour  con- 
sented to  solicit  a  pension  for  him,  a  request  which  the 
King  readily  granted.  Some  months  afterwards  d'Argen- 
son's sight  began  to  fail,  and  the  oculist  Demours  was 
summoned  to  Ormes  to  attend  him.  On  his  return, 
Demours  waited  on  the  favourite  and  begged  her  to 
allow  his  patient  to  reside  in  or  near  Paris,  as  it  was 
most  important  that  he  should  be  within  reach  of  medical 
advice,  but  the  marchioness  refused  to  hear  of  it.  It  was 
not  until  after  her  death  that  d'Argenson  was  recalled, 
only  to  die  himself  a  few  months  later. 

As  for  his  partner  in  disgrace,  Machault,  he  retired  to 
his  country-house,  and  resided  there  until  the  Revolu- 
tion, when,  in  spite  of  his  great  age — he  was  over  ninety 
— he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the  Madelonettes, 
where  he  died  in  1794. 

A  few  words  must  be  said  with  regard  to  the  fate  of 
the  wretched  man  who  was  the  cause  of  this  imbroglio. 

The  most  minute  investigations  were  made  with  the 
object  of  discovering  the  antecedents   of  the   would-be 

323 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

assassin,  his  motives  for  the  crime,  and  his  accomplices; 
and  he  was  subjected  to  the  most  revolting  tortures,  a 
rack  designed  by  the  diabolical  ingenuity  of  the  Inquisition 
being  brought  from  Avignon  for  the  purpose.  It  was 
ascertained  that  his  name  was  Fran9ois  Damiens,  a  lackey 
out  of  a  situation,  who  had  formerly  been  a  servant  in 
the  house  of  a  counsellor  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris. 
He  was  a  man  of  weak  intellect,  and  his  imagination  had 
been  excited  by  the  violent  denunciations  of  the  King 
and  the  clergy  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  hearing  while 
waiting  at  his  master's  table. ^     He  does  not  appear  to 

1  In  1749  Machault,  then  Comptroller-General,  proposed  to  levy  a 
vingtieme  (twentieth)  on  the  income  of  every  one  in  the  kingdom.  The 
clergy,  who  had  hitherto  been  exempt  from  direct  taxation,  though  they 
occasionally  voted  gratuities  to  the  King,  were  furious  at  such  an  invasion 
of  their  privileges,  and  not  only  refused  to  submit  to  it,  but  even  to  obey  a 
royal  edict  requiring  them  to  render  an  account  of  their  revenues.  "  Do 
not  force  us  to  the  necessity  of  disobeying  either  God  or  the  King," 
wrote  the  Bishop  of  Marseilles  to  Louis.  "You  know  which  of  the  two 
ought  to  have  the  preference."  With  the  object  of  diverting  public 
attention  from  the  real  question  at  issue,  the  orthodox  clergy  started  a 
fresh  crusade  against  the  Jansenists,  and  refused  the  sacraments  to  all  who 
denied  the  authority  of  the  Bull  Unigenitus,  promulgated  by  Clement  XI. 
in  17 13,  among  others  to  the  Due  d'Orleans,  son  of  the  Regent.  The 
Parliament  of  Paris,  which  was  violently  Jansenist,  retaliated  and  inflicted 
heavy  fines  on  the  recalcitrant  priests  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  its 
example  was  followed  by  the  provincial  parliaments.  Machault  was 
compelled  to  abandon  his  intention  of  taxing  the  clergy,  but  still  the 
religious  controversy,  which  was  known  as  "The  War  of  the  Certificates  of 
Confession,"  continued,  nor  was  it  appeased  until  the  King  had  banished 
several  of  the  leaders  on  either  side,  the  Parliament  had  suspended  its 
sittings,  and  the  whole  judicial  machinery  of  the  kingdom  had  been 
thrown  into  disorder.  In  this  contest,  Madame  de  Pompadour  at  first 
supported  the  clergy,  as  she  was  annoyed  at  certain  disparaging  remarks 
concerning  herself,  which  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Parliament  had  let 
fall,  but  later  on,  through  hatred  of  the  Jesuits,  she  inclined  to  the  other 
side  and  did  not  a  little  to  bring  about  the  final  settlement. 

324 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

have  had  any  intention  of  killing  Louis,  but  merely 
intended  to  "  give  him  a  warning  "  to  cease  persecuting 
the  Parliament  and  punish  Christophe  de  Beaumont,^ 
Archbishop  of  Paris,  "  the  author  of  all  the  evil,"  and  he 
had  no  accomplices.^  In  a  more  merciful  age  he  would 
have  been  sent  to  a  maison  de  sante^  for  he  was  obviously 
insane  ;  as  it  was,  he  was  condemned  to  the  awful  penalty 
which  Ravaillac,  the  assassin  of  Henri  IV.,  had  suffered. 

*'  His  horrible  punishment,"  says  a  contemporary 
writer,  "began  at  a  quarter  to  five  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  28th  of  March.  His  right  hand  was  burned  ;  he 
was  then  torn  with  pincers ;  molten  lead  was  poured  into 
the  wounds,  after  which  he  was  drawn  and  quartered. 
At  the  expiration  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter  he  was  still 
alive,  having  endured  everything  with  intrepid  firmness, 
and  having  exhibited  only  such  signs  of  pain  as  are 
inseparable  from  human  nature  and  cannot  be  avoided. 
For  the  last  ceremony,  a  small  scaffold  had  been  erected 
on  a  level  with  the  traces  of  the  horses,  upon  which  he 
was  placed  with  his  arms  and  legs  hanging  over.  The 
executioner  had  purchased  six  horses  for  the  sum  of 
3600  livres,  in  order  that  if  one  of  the  first  four 
should  become  exhausted,  he  might  at  once  be  able  to 
put  another  in  its  place.  Although  these  horses  were 
very  powerful  animals,  yet,  after  repeated  efforts,  they 
could  not  succeed,  even  with  the  assistance  of  the  two 
fresh    ones;     and     the    axe    had    to    be    requisitioned. 

1  Christophe  de  Beaumont — "a  serious  fool  in  the  style  of  St.  Thomas 
a  Becket,"  as  Voltaire  calls  him — had  encouraged  the  clergy  in  their 
refusal  of  the  sacraments  to  the  Jansenists.  His  temporalities  were  con- 
fiscated by  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  but  restored  to  him  by  the  King,  who, 
however,  subsequently  banished  him  to  his  country-house  at  Conflans. 

2  See  Damiens's  extraordinary  letter  to  Louis  XV.  in  Voltaire's  S'lecle 
de  Louts  XI''.,  ch.  xxxvii. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Damiens's  severed  limbs  were  reunited  to  the  trunk,  and, 
a  pile  having  been  lighted,  they  were  placed  upon  it,  and, 
when  reduced  to  ashes,  scattered  to  the  winds.  We 
cannot  give  any  account  of  the  numbers  that  were  in 
Paris  that  day.  The  inhabitants  from  the  surrounding 
villages,  from  the  provinces,  and  even  strangers  had 
flocked  thither  as  to  the  most  brilliant  spectacle.  Not 
only  the  windows  commanding  a  view  of  the  scaffold, 
but  even  those  of  the  garrets  were  let  at  exorbitant 
prices,  and  the  tops  of  the  houses  were  covered  with 
spectators.  But  the  most  striking  circumstance  was  the 
eagerness  of  the  women — whose  dispositions  are  reckoned 
so  tender  and  compassionate — to  see  the  sight,  to  dwell 
upon  it,  to  support  it  in  all  its  horror,  without  a  shudder 
or  tear,  and  without  the  slightest  emotion  ;  ^  while  almost 
all  the  men  shuddered  and  turned  away  their  heads."  ^ 

The  judges,  not  satisfied  with  this  detestable  cruelty, 
condemned  the  innocent  family  of  Damiens — his  aged 
father,  wife,  and  child — to  perpetual  banishment,  with 
the  penalty  of  death  if  they  returned  to  France.  Louis, 
however,  mitigated  the  severity  of  the  sentence  by 
granting  them  a  pension. 

^  "Madame  de  P (Preandeau),  a  very  beautiful  woman  and  the 

wife  of  a  farmer-general,  hired  two  places  at  a  window  for  twelve  louis, 
and  played  a  game  of  cards  while  waiting  for  the  execution  to  begin. 
On  this  being  reported  to  the  King,  he  covered  his  face  with  his  hands 
and  exclaimed,  ^  Fi,  la  vilaine  !'  I  have  been  told  that  she  and  others 
thought  to  pay  their  court  in  this  way  and  signalise  their  attachment  to 
the  King's  person." —Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  p.  174. 

Richelieu  says  that  when,  during  the  last  stage  of  this  revolting  cere- 
mony, the  executioner  began  to  flog  the  horses,  in  order  to  incite  them  to 
fresh  exertions,  this  same  Madame  de  Preandieu  cried  out,  "^Zi  /  Jesus/ 
les  pawvres  betes,  comme  je  plains  !  " 

2   Vie privee  de  Louis  XV.,  iil.  93. 

326 


CHAPTER    XVII 

The  Austrian  party  at  Versailles  strengthened  by  the  fall  of 
d'Argenson — Second  Treaty  of  Versailles — Its  terms  far  more 
favourable  to  Austria  than  to  France — The  French  Ministry 
subservient  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  —  Bernis  becomes 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs — Kaunitz's  letter  to  the  favourite 
— Madame  de  Pompadour  refuses  to  allow  the  Prince  de  Conti 
to  command  the  French  army — Soubise  and  d'Estrees — The 
war  in  Western  Germany — Incapacity  of  the  rival  commanders 
— French  victory  at  Hastenbeck — Intrigues  at  Versailles  lead 
to  the  recall  of  d'Estrees — He  is  succeeded  by  Richelieu — 
Indignation  of  the  Parisians — Lampoons — Richelieu's  conduct 
in  Hanover — "Z,^  Pavilion  de  Hanovre" — Desperate  position 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  army — Frederick  the  Great's 
letter  to  Richelieu — Richelieu  concludes  the  Convention  of 
Kloster-Zeven — Fatal  consequences  of  this  agreement — Luxury 
and  demoralisation  of  the  French  armies — Soubise  in  Saxony 
— Battle  of  Rossbach — Popular  indignation  against  Madame 
de  Pompadour — Grief  of  Soubise — He  is  lampooned — The 
favourite  refuses  to  allow  him  to  resign  his  command. 

The  fall  of  d'Argenson  not  only  strengthened  the  position 
of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  by  ridding  her  of  a  dangerous 
and  implacable  enemy,  but  greatly  facilitated  the  designs 
of  Maria  Theresa  and  Kaunitz,  for  the  disgraced  Minister 
had  been  as  strongly  opposed  to  the  Austrian  alliance  as 
he  had  been  to  the  favourite  herself.  "  He  was  the 
enemy  of  the  new  system,"  writes  Stahremberg  to  his 
Government,  in  announcing  the  count's  dismissal,  "but  he 
affected  the  contrary  and  argued  as  if  he  had  been  the  most 

327 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

zealous  of  partisans.  It  is  obvious,  nevertheless,  that  all 
his  plans  were  directed  to  reverse  it,  and  he  had  difficulty 
in  concealing  his  predilections  for  the  King  of  Prussia  and 
his  fears  that  the  influence  of  that  prince  was  completely 
annihilated.  It  is,  therefore,  beyond  question  that  his 
dismissal  is  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  for  us."  ^ 

The  cause  of  Austria  was  still  further  strengthened  by 
the  retirement,  through  ill-health,  of  Saint-S6verin,  the 
negotiator  of  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  who,  to  some 
extent,  shared  d'Argenson's  Prussian  proclivities — a  retire- 
ment which  was  quickly  followed  by  that  of  his  friend 
and  supporter,  the  Marquis  de  Puisieux.  All  semblance 
of  opposition  to  the  proposals  of  the  Court  of  Vienna  was 
now  at  an  end ;  Madame  de  Pompadour  for  the  moment 
was  as  absolute  as  le  Grand  Monarque ;  and  on  May  i, 
1757,  exactly  a  year  after  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  had 
been  signed,  the  favourite  succeeded  in  dragging  the 
misguided  Ministry  into  a  second  treaty,  which  had  for 
its  object  nothing  less  than  the  partition  of  Frederick's 
dominions.  Silesia,  Glatz,  and  a  portion  of  Brandenburg 
were  to  go  to  Austria ;  Magdeburg,  Halle,  and  the  adja- 
cent districts  to  Saxony,  which  was  also  to  receive  the 
Duchy  of  Halberstadt,  in  return  for  the  surrender  of  part 
of  Lusatia  to  Austria ;  Pomerania  was  to  be  restored  to 
Sweden.  France  was  to  receive  as  her  share  of  the  spoil 
a  portion  of  the  Netherlands,  including  the  seaport  towns 
of  Ostend  and  Nieuport,  while  the  remainder  was  to  be 
given  to  Don  Philip,  Louis  XV. 's  son-in-law,  in  exchange 
for  the  Italian  duchies  of  Parma,  Piacenza,  and  Guastalla.^ 

1  D'Arneth's  Maria  Theresia,  17 56-1 7 5 8.      Note  56. 

2  France  undertook  to  pay  to  Austria  a  subsidy  of  12,000,000 
gulden  a  year,  to  take  into  her  service  6000  Wiirtembergers  and  4000 
Bavarians,  and  to  bring  into  the  field  105,000  troops  of  her  own. 

328 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  advantage  of  this  treaty  was  wholly  on  the  side 
of  Austria,  The  loss  of  the  Netherlands  was  of  little 
importance  to  her,  in  fact,  they  were  rather  a  burden 
than  a  source  of  strength,  while  their  fortifications  were 
so  dilapidated  as  to  be  hardly  defensible.  On  the  other 
hand,  should  the  coalition  triumph,  she  would  not  only 
recover  all  the  territory  she  had  surrendered  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  and  a  good  deal  more  besides,  but  would  be 
absolutely  supreme  in  Germany,  as  the  only  German 
power  capable  of  thwarting  her  designs  upon  the  in- 
dependence of  the  minor  States  would  be  annihilated. 
Moreover,  it  was  only  a  small  portion  of  the  Netherlands 
that  France  was  to  receive  ;  the  bulk  was  assigned  to  a 
Spanish  prince,  who  might  one  day  prove  himself  a  very 
tiresome  neighbour  ;  while,  should  the  war  be  unsuccess- 
ful, she  would  gain  nothing  whatever  in  return  for  her 
sacrifices,  for  the  cession  of  the  Netherlands  was  contin- 
gent upon  the  success  of  the  whole  undertaking.  It  is 
incomprehensible  how  any  sane  Government  could  have 
been  brought  to  consent  to  such  an  arrangement. 

But  after  all,  what  else  could  be  expected  ?  The 
Ministry  at  Versailles  was  now  entirely  composed  of  de- 
pendents of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  or  nonentities  who 
could  be  trusted  not  to  oppose  her  will.  D'Argenson 
and  Machault  had  been  succeeded  at  the  War  Office  and 
the  Marine  by  the  Marquis  de  Paulmy  and  the  Comte 
de  Moras.  The  former  is  described  by  one  of  his  con- 
temporaries as  "  not  deficient  in  understanding,  but 
destitute  of  business  capacity,  plunged  in  intemperance 
and  debauchery,  and  a  slave  to  women,  who  could  per- 
suade him  to  do  any  foolish  thing  they  chose,"  which 
may  perhaps  account  for  his  appointment  to  the  post, 
notwithstanding    the    fact    that    he    was    d'Argenson's 

329 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

nephew.  As  for  Moras,  we  are  told  that  the  King 
would  appear  to  have  appointed  him  for  the  express 
purpose  of  accentuating  the  folly  of  Machault's  dis- 
missal. Rouille,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was 
an  apopletic  old  gentleman  who,  when  at  meetings  of  the 
Council  his  opinion  was  invited,  was  generally  found  to 
be  asleep.  His  duties  had  for  some  months  been  prac- 
tically discharged  by  Bernis;  and  in  July  1757  he  was 
persuaded  to  resign,  and  the  abb6,  whose  ambition  had 
temporarily  got  the  better  of  his  good  sense,  was  installed 
in  his  place.  The  other  Ministers  were  easily  schooled 
into  complaisance. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  services  the  favourite 
continued  to  render  to  the  Court  of  Vienna  did  not 
remain  without  acknowledgment,  and  in  June  we  find 
Kaunitz  writing  to  her  as  follows  : — 

The  Count  von  Kaunitz-Rietberg  to  Madame 
DE  Pompadour. 

"The  Comte  de  Stahremberg  has  informed  me,  madame, 
of  your  pleasure  and  satisfaction  at  the  final  arrange- 
ments which  the  King  has  made  for  rendering  more 
effective  support  to  the  Empress  and  the  common  cause. 
He  has  kept  me  informed  of  the  interest  which  you  have 
manifested  on  all  occasions  in  regard  to  matters  which 
affect  us.  Their  Majesties  have  always  been  sensible  of 
it,  and  They  feel  so  deeply  this  last  mark  of  your  good- 
will that  They  have  instructed  me  to  inform  you  of  their 
gratitude.  Our  courier  is  the  bearer  of  the  ratification  of  J 
this  great  and  famous  treaty,  which  is  the  King's  work 
and  will  be  illustrious  in  all  ages  to  come.  Nothing 
now  remains  for  Him  but  to  press  on  its  execution,  in 
order  to  escape  by  this  means  from  the  dangers  which 

330 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

threaten  us,  and  to  put  an  end  as  soon  as  possible  to  the 
immense  expenditure  and  calamities  inseparable  from  the 
scourge  of  war.  The  King  will  always  find  the  Empress 
ready  and  willing  to  co-operate  with  Him  in  all  measures 
necessary  to  effect  this  object ;  and  She  concludes  that 
He  is  similarly  inclined  and  agrees  with  Her  that  it  is 
the  best,  not  to  say  the  only,  way  of  promptly  and  surely 
reaping  the  fruit  of  His  work.  To  my  good  wishes  I 
will  certainly  add  all  the  poor  assistance  that  it  is  in  my 
power  to  render,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  you  will  do 
the  same.  I  do  not  doubt  it,  indeed,  for  I  am  aware  of 
the  nobility  of  your  soul  and  the  lively  interest  you  take 
in  the  glory  of  the  King  and  the  happiness  of  France. 
Do  me  the  favour  of  occasionally  recalling  the  profound 
and  respectful  esteem  which  I  entertain  for  you,  and 
believe  that  I  shall  all  my  life,  etc." 

Madame  de  Pompadour,  not  content  with  reconstruct- 
ing Cabinets  and  negotiating  treaties,  now  sought  to 
control  the  French  armies,  or  at  least  the  generals  who 
commanded  them.  The  command  of  the  principal 
army,  80,000  strong,  which  v/as  to  invade  the  Prussian 
dominions  on  the  Lower  Rhine,  had  been  the  subject 
of  much  jealousy  and  intrigue  at  Versailles,  Maria 
Theresa  had  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Prince  de  Conti 
should  be  appointed,  and  the  choice  would  have  been  a 
good  one.  Conti,  besides  being  a  brave  soldier,  was  an 
intelligent  and  energetic  officer,  and  had  given  con- 
spicuous proof  of  his  ability  in  Italy  during  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession.  Louis  had  actually  promised 
him  the  command  ;  but  Madame  de  Pompadour  had  not 
forgiven  the  prince  for  his  attempt  to  supplant  her  by 
Madame  de  Coislin,  and  not  only  compelled  the  King  to 

331 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

withdraw  his  promise,  but  refused  to  allow  him  to 
employ  Conti  in  any  military  capacity  whatever.  The 
favourite  wished  to  have  the  post  given  to  her  friend 
Soubise,  who  had  assured  her  that  he  felt  confident  of 
victory,  and  that  the  glory  of  her  nominee  would  reflect 
upon  herself.  As  Soubise  was  only  a  lieutenant-general, 
his  immediate  appointment  over  the  heads  of  all  the 
marshals  would  have  caused  too  great  a  scandal,  so  she 
reluctantly  acquiesced  in  the  selection  of  Mar^chal 
d'Estr^es,  whom,  however,  she  determined  that  Soubise 
should  supersede  at  the  first  convenient  opportunity. 
The  latter  accompanied  the  marshal,  and  though  he  only 
commanded  a  division,  stamped  the  letters  he  sent  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  ^^  Armie  de  Soubise.''''  This  and 
similar  acts  of  presumption  were  reported  to  d'Estr^es,  and 
caused  much  friction  between  him  and  his  subordinate. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  been  placed  at  the 
head  of  a  composite  force  of  Hanoverians,  Hessians, 
and  other  West  German  troops,  together  with  a  few 
Prussians,  to  resist  the  advance  of  the  French.  His 
army  was  much  inferior  to  d'Estrees's  in  numbers,  but 
that  general  acted  as  if  the  reverse  had  been  the  case 
However,  that  mattered  little,  for  Cumberland  was  even 
more  cautious.  Instead  of  defending  the  Lower  Rhine, 
as  Frederick  had  advised  him,  he  fell  back  on  the  Weser 
— a  river  the  passage  of  which  was  far  more  difficult  to 
dispute  than  the  Rhine — thus  enabling  the  French  to 
occupy  nearly  the  whole  of  Westphalia,  without  striking 
a  blow.^     For  upwards  of  four  months  no  engagement 

^  *'  I  have  never  seen  any  one  more  out  of  his  element  in  war  than  M. 
de  Cumberland.  He  seemed  to  be  acting  under  our  orders ;  as  soon  as 
we  struck  our  tents  to  advance,  he  prepared  to  retreat." — Memo'ires  du 
Baron  de  Besenva!,  i.  45. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

of  any  note  occurred,  and  the  war  in  this  quarter  began 
to  assume  a  farcical  character,  in  marked  contrast  to 
that  which  was  being  waged  in  Bohemia,  where  in  two 
battles,  Prague  and  KoUin,  more  than  thirty  thousand 
men  had  fallen. 

At  length,  towards  the  end  of  July,  d'Estrdes,  spurred 
on  by  urgent  despatches  from  Versailles,  crossed  the 
Weser  and  attacked  Cumberland  at  Hastenbeck.  The 
battle  ended  in  a  victory  for  the  French,  though  no  credit 
was  due  to  their  commander,  who  had  actually  ordered 
a  retrograde  movement,  under  the  impression  that  he  had 
been  defeated,  when  he  discovered  that  the  main  body  of 
the  enemy  was  in  full  retreat.  In  fairness  to  him,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  observed  that  he  appears  to  have  been 
left  unsupported  by  one  of  his  lieutenants,  the  Comte  de 
Maillebois,  whose  conduct  was  afterwards  made  the  sub- 
ject of  an  inquiry. 

While  d'Estr^es  was  manoeuvring  on  the  Weser,  in- 
trigues were  going  on  against  him  at  Versailles.  The 
Comte  de  Maillebois,  already  mentioned,  who  was  jealous 
of  his  commanding  officer,  kept  up  a  private  correspond- 
ence with  the  Marquis  de  Paulmy,  the  War  Minister,  in 
which  he  persistently  exaggerated  the  shortcomings  of  the 
marshal.  Moreover,  the  latter  had,  before  leaving  France, 
quarrelled  with  Paris-Duverney,  the  commissary-general 
— who  was  the  confidant  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  all 
military  matters — owing  to  his  refusal  to  discuss  with  him 
his  plan  of  campaign.  And,  finally,  his  wife  had  mor- 
tally offended  the  favourite  by  conspiring  against  her  with 
Mademoiselle  Murphy  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs.  This  miser- 
able affair  decided  the  fate  of  poor  d'Estr^es,  and  on  the 
very  day  after  the  battle  of  Hastenbeck  a  courier  arrived 
with  his  recall.     He  was  succeeded  by  Richelieu,  who  had 

333 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

gained  some  distinction  the  previous  year  by  his  capture 
of  Minorca ;  while  it  was  decided  that  Soubise  should 
be  given  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself  and 
attempt  the  deliverance  of  Saxony,  in  conjunction  with 
the  troops  of  the  German  Circles.  How  Soubise  dis- 
tinguished himself  we  shall  presently  relate. 

D'Estrees  returned  to  Paris  to  find  himself  the  hero  of 
the  hour.  The  Parisians,  who  were,  of  course,  unaware 
of  the  good  fortune  that  had  gained  him  the  battle  of 
Hastenbeck,  saw  in  him  only  a  victorious  general  sacri- 
ficed to  a  Court  cabal,  and  chanted  his  praises,  while  they 
poured  ridicule  upon  his  successor  : — 

"  Nous  avons  deux  generaux 
Qui  tous  deux  sont  maiechaux, 

VoiPa  la  ressemblance. 
L'un  de  Mars  est  favori, 
Et  I'autre  Test  de  Louis, 

Voila  la  difference. 

*'  Cumberland  les  craint  tous  deux 
Et  cherche  a  s'eloigner  d'eux, 

Voila  la  ressemblance- 
De  l'un  il  fuit  la  valeur 
Et  de  I'autre  il  fuit  I'odeur,* 

Voifa  la  difference. 

*'  Dans  un  beau  champ  de  lauriers 
On  apergoit  ces  guerriers, 

Voifa  la  ressemblance. 
L'un  a  su  les  entasser, 
L'autre  vient  les  ramasser,^ 

Voila  la  difference."  ^ 

1  Richelieu  had  a  weakness  for  musk  and  other  strong  perflimes. 

2  A  caricature  of  the  day  represents  d'Estrees  chastising  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  with  a  branch  of  laurel,  while  Richelieu  is  engaged  in 
gathering  up  the  leaves  that  fall  and  making  himself  a  crown. 

3  Fie  prhee  de  Louis  XF.,  iii.  356.      Journal  de  Barhier,  vi    555. 

334 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

The  marshal  waited  on  the  Khig  to  render  account  of 
his  conduct  and  solicit  permission  to  retire  to  his  estates. 
Louis  received  him  very  graciously  and  suggested  that 
before  leaving  Versailles  he  should  call  upon  Madame  de 
Pompadour.  D'Estrees  obeyed,  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  marchioness,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  It  is  by  the  King's  command,  madame,  that 
I  am  come  to  pay  my  respects  to  you.  I  am  perfectly 
aware  of  the  sentiments  you  entertain  for  me,  but  I  have 
too  much  confidence  in  the  justice  of  the  King,  my 
master,  to  fear  them."  Then,  turning  on  his  heel,  he 
left  the  room  and  quitted  Versailles  the  same  day,  with- 
out reporting  himself  at  the  War  Office,  the  titular  head 
of  which  he  energetically  denounced  as  "  Cet  excrement  de 
Faulmy^  ^ 

If  d'Estrees  had  been  unfitted  for  the  command  of 
a  large  army,  the  frivolous  and  corrupt  Richelieu  was 
even  more  so.  The  former,  who,  though  slow  and  over- 
cautious, was  a  well-meaning  and  honest  officer,  had  at 
least  succeeded  in  enforcing  discipline  and,  according  to 
a  German  authority,  had  hanged  no  less  than  a  thousand 
mutinous  soldiers  ;  under  the  latter,  the  troops  devoted 
themselves  to  the  congenial  task  of  plunder,  in  which 
their  commander,  so  far  from  attempting  to  restrain  them, 
himself  set  the  example,  and  to  such  good  purpose,  that 
when  he  returned  to  Paris  he  was  able  to  build  a  magni- 
ficent palace  at  the  corner  of  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens, 
which  the  Parisians  called  in  derision  "  Le  Pavilion  de 
Hanovre." 

At  length,  after  sating  himself  with  plunder,  Richelieu 
turned    north    in    pursuit    of    Cumberland,  who   would 

^  Memoires  secrets  du  Duclos,  ii.  1 39 ;  Campardon's  Madame  de 
Pompadour  et  la  cour  de  Louis  XV.,  p.  21 1. 

335 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

appear  to  have  completely  lost  his  head,  and,  instead  of 
falling  back  on  Magdeburg,  where  he  might  have  acted 
in  conjunction  with  the  Prussians,  or  making  a  stand 
against  the  invaders,  had  retreated  to  the  fortress  of 
Stade,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe,  Here  he  found 
himself  in  a  kind  of  cul-de-sac^  penned  in  between  the 
river,  the  sea,  and  the  advancing  French.  No  course 
was  now  open  to  him  but  to  give  battle  or  surrender. 
He  chose  the  latter  alternative,  and  opened  negotiations 
with  Richelieu,  with  a  view  to  securing  an  honourable 
retreat  for  his  army ;  the  French  general  replied  that  he 
had  come  to  fight  and  not  to  negotiate,  and  continued 
to  advance. 

However,  a  few  days  later  Richelieu  changed  his  tone. 
He  had  really  no  desire  to  drive  Cumberland  to  despera- 
tion, and  much  preferred  "  a  fair  chance  of  plunder  to 
pay  his  debts "  to  any  amount  of  military  glory.  He 
also  thought  it  possible  that  the  English  general, 
instead  of  risking  a  battle,  might  throw  himself  into 
Stade,  and  he  ioubted  the  policy  of  beginning  a  siege  so 
late  in  the  year.  Moreover,  he  had  just  received  a  letter 
from  Frederick,  which  an  indignant  French  writer  stig- 
matises as  "  a  chef-d' osiivre  of  gross  deceit  and  fulsome 
flattery,"  and  in  which  the  Prussian  monarch,  "  in  the 
supposition  that  the  King,  your  master,  now  assured  by 
your  successes,  will  have  put  it  into  your  power  to  labour 
for  the  pacification  of  Germany,"  expressed  himself  as 
persuaded  that  "  the  nephew  of  the  great  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu was  made  for  signing  treaties  no  less  than  for  gaining 
battles,"  and  that  "  he  who  had  merited  statues  at  Genoa, 
he  who  had  conquered  the  Island  of  Minorca  in  the 
face  of  immense  obstacles,  he  who  was  on  the  point 
of  subjugating   Lower  Saxony,  could  do  nothing  more 

336 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

glorious  than  to  restore  peace  to  Europe,  which  would 
be  without  doubt  the  most  splendid  of  all  his  laurels."  ^ 

It  is  said  that  the  bearer  of  this  epistle,  an  Italian 
engineer  in  the  Prussian  service,  brought  with  him  some- 
thing more  acceptable  than  flattery,  to  wit,  15,000  louis; 
and  Richelieu  confesses  in  his  Memoires  that  the  King's 
letter  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  him,  as  it  appealed 
to  "  the  natural  benevolence  of  his  character."  He  had, 
of  course,  no  power  "  to  restore  peace  to  Europe,"  or 
even  to  conclude  an  armistice,  which  was  probably  all 
Frederick  had  hoped  for,  but  he  did  what  in  the  end  was 
much  the  same  thing  as  the  latter,  by  consenting,  on  the 
mediation  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  to  negotiate  with 
Cumberland,  and  on  September  10,  1757,  signed  the 
Convention  of  Kloster-Zeven,  whereby  it  was  arranged 
that  the  Hessians,  Brunswickers,  and  other  auxiliaries 
were  to  be  sent  home  and  to  observe  the  strictest  neu- 
trality to  the  end  of  the  war ;  the  Hanoverians  to  winter 
in  and  around  Stade,  while  the  French  remained  masters 
of  Hanover,  Bremen,  and  Verden, 

This  so-called  convention  was,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, a  capitulation,  but  Cumberland  protested  so 
strongly  against  that  word  being  used  that  Richelieu 
yielded  the  point,  without  taking  into  consideration  the 
possible  consequences  of  such  a  concession.  Between  a 
capitulation  and  a  convention  there  is  an  important 
difference.  The  one  is  a  military  act  complete  in  itself, 
the  other  is  binding  only  if  ratified  by  the  respective 
Governments.  Richelieu  has  been  accused  of  criminal 
carelessness  in  not  insisting  on  the  former  compact, 
but  it  is  probable  that  he  considered  the  matter  of  very 

1  Nouveaux  Memoires  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  iv.  1 8 1.      Duclos  states  in 
his  Memoires  that  he  had  seen  the  original  of  this  letter. 

337  ,  Y 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

slight  importance,  as  he  expected  that  the  convention 
would  be  merely  a  preliminary  step  to  a  treaty  for  the 
neutrality  of  Hanover,  about  which  negotiations  had  for 
some  time  being  going  on  at  Vienna.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  impossible  to  exonerate  his  omission  both  to 
stipulate  the  duration  of  the  convention  and  to  interdict 
the  capitulating  troops  from  serving  against  the  allies  of 
France.^ 

When  the  news  reached  Versailles,  Bernis  tried  to  repair 
the  marshal's  error  and  to  complete  the  agreement ;  but 
his  efforts  were  fruitless.  As  soon  as  Frederick's  affairs 
assumed  a  more  favourable  aspect,  the  English  Govern- 
ment promptly  repudiated  the  convention  ;  and,  by  the 
irony  of  fate,  the  very  troops  that  Richelieu  had  permitted 
to  escape  him  were  those  which,  under  a  more  skilful 
general  than  Cumberland,  inflicted  such  a  crushing  defeat 
on  the  French  at  Crefeld.^ 

For  the  moment,  however,  all  North  Germany  was 
completely  at  Richelieu's  mercy,  and  he  might,  by  co- 
operating with  Soubise,  have  placed  Frederick  in  dire 
peril.  But  Madame  de  Pompadour  wished  to  secure  all 
the  glory  of  defeating  the  Prussian  King  for  her  own 
henchman,  and  so  Richelieu  was  ordered  to  send  rein- 
forcements to  Soubise  and  to  remain  in  Hanover  with 
the  main  body  of  his  troops. 

Ever  since  the  death  of  Louis  XIV.  the  morale  of 
the  French  army  had  been  steadily  deteriorating ;  the 
soldiers  were  insubordinate  and  ignorant  of  the  simplest 
manoeuvres,  the  officers  incapable  and  luxurious.  In 
1 733  we   read   of  Richelieu,   then   a  simple   colonel   of 

1  Longman's  "  Frederick   the  Great   and  the   Seven  Years'    War," 
p.  117  ;   Martin's  H'tstoire  de  France,  xv.  519. 

2  Memoir  es  et  Lett  res  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  i.  399  et  seq. 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

infantry,  leaving  Paris  for  the  seat  of  war,  accompanied 
by  "  seventy-two  sumpter-mules,  thirty  horses,  a  great 
number  of  men-servants,  and  tents  similar  to  those  used 
by  the  King."  ■^  But  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War  the  climax  seems  to  have  been  reached,  and  the 
luxury  of  the  officers  and  the  demoralisation  of  the 
troops  baffle  all  description.  The  baggage-train  extended 
for  miles,  and  the  number  of  sumpter-horses  far  ex- 
ceeded those  of  the  cavalry  and  artillery,  while  the 
armies  were  encumbered  with  crowds  of  chefs,  hair- 
dressers, musicians,  lackeys,  and  courtesans.  "  They 
resembled  the  cohorts  of  Darius  and  Xerxes  rather  than 
the  armies  of  Turenne  and  Gustavus  Adolphus.  The 
leaders  permitted  the  soldiery  all  kinds  of  depredations 
that  its  indigence  might  not  revolt  against  their  magni- 
ficent voluptuousness."  ^ 

Bad  as  was  the  state  of  RicheUeu's  army,  that  of  Soubise 
was  infinitely  worse ;  for  Richelieu  in  an  emergency  was 
capable  of  acting  with  both  courage  and  firmness,  while 
Soubise  had  not  the  faintest  notion  of  maintaining  dis- 
ciphne,  and  both  officers  and  men  took  full  advantage 
of  his  weakness.  Twelve  thousand  pedlars'  and  sutlers' 
waggons  accompanied  the  troops,  and  one  squadron  of 
Life  Guards  alone — that  commanded  by  the  Due  de 
Villeroi — boasted  a  suite  of  twelve  hundred  sumpter- 
horses.  As  for  the  rank  and  file,  they  pillaged  the 
houses  of  friend  and  foe  alike,  maltreated  the  occupants, 
desecrated  churches,  and  generally  conducted  them- 
selves more  like  savages  than  the  troops  of  a  civilised 
nation. 

Soubise  and  his  disorderly  mob,  for  only  by  courtesy 

^   Journal  de  Barbier,  ii.  428. 
2  Martin's  Histoire  de  France,  xy.  520. 
339 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

could  it  be  called  an  army,  advanced  to  Erfurt,  where 
they  effected  a  junction  with  the  troops  of  the  German 
Circles,  commanded  by  the  Prince  of  Saxe-Hildburg- 
hausen,  who  was  almost  as  incapable  as  Soubise  himself. 
Scarcely  had  this  been  done,  when  intelligence  arrived 
that  Frederick  was  marching  against  them  in  person, 
whereupon  Soubise  insisted  on  retreating  into  the  hilly 
country  about  Eisenach.  Now  that  he  was  actually  in 
the  presence  of  his  redoubtable  adversary,  he  was  much 
less  eager  to  try  conclusions  with  him  than  he  had  been 
at  Versailles.  However,  Frederick  was  compelled  to 
withdraw,  to  repel  a  threatened  Austrian  advance  on 
Berlin,  and  the  allies,  descending  from  the  hills,  advanced 
as  far  as  Leipzig,  and  were  preparing  to  besiege  it,  when 
they  were  informed  that  the  Prussian  King  was  returning. 
On  hearing  this,  they  abandoned  the  idea  of  besieging  the 
town,  and  decided  to  fall  back  beyond  the  Saale  and  await 
his  approach.  Frederick  followed  them  and  took  up  a 
position  near  the  village  of  Rossbach,  about  two  miles 
distant  from  that  occupied  by  the  allied  army,  which 
outnumbered  the  Prussians  by  more  than  two  to  one. 
Hildburghausen  wanted  to  fight,  Soubise  to  retreat.  His 
instructions  were  merely  to  harass  Frederick,  not  to 
attack  him,  besides  which  six  thousand  of  his  men  were 
absent  plundering  the  neighbouring  hamlets.  His  officers, 
however,  were  eager  for  battle,  and,  a  despatch  arriving 
from  the  French  Ambassador  at  Vienna  urging  him  to 
take  the  aggressive,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  overruled. 
Accordingly,  on  November  5,  a  fatuous  attempt  was 
made  by  the  allies  to  march  round  to  the  left  of  the 
Prussian  position,  with  the  intention  of  outflanking 
Frederick.  The  result  was  that  they  were  taken  in  flank 
themselves,  and  in  an  hour   and  a  half  utterly  routed. 

340 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

The  whole  brunt  of  the  battle  fell  upon  the  French — 
the  troops  of  the  Empire,  a  motley  crew,  fled  without 
taking  any  real  part  in  the  action — and  their  loss  was 
terrible,  while  nearly  all  their  baggage  and  artillery  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

The  intelligence  of  this  crushing  defeat — "  a  second 
Agincourt"  one  French  writer  calls  it — was  received  in 
Paris  with  a  perfect  storm  of  indignation.  "  Never  was 
the  public  so  inflamed  against  Madame  de  Pompadour," 
says  Madame  du  Hausset,  *'  as  when  news  arrived  of  the 
battle  of  Rossbach.  Every  day  she  received  anonymous 
letters  full  of  the  grossest  abuse,  atrocious  verses,  threats 
of  poison  and  assassination.  She  continued  long  a  prey 
to  the  most  acute  grief,  and  could  obtain  no  sleep  but 
from  opiates.  All  this  discontent  was  excited  by  her 
protection  of  the  Prince  de  Soubise,  and  the  Lieutenant 
of  Police  had  great  difficulty  in  allaying  the  ferment  of 
the  people."  ^ 

Poor  Soubise,  who,  to  do  him  justice,  was  far  less  to 
blame  than  the  Prince  of  Hildburghausen,  and  had  dis- 
played great  bravery  on  the  fatal  field,  did  not  attempt 
to  disguise  the  severity  of  his  defeat,  as  most  generals 
would  have  done.  "  I  write  to  your  Majesty,"  he  says, 
in  announcing  the  disaster  to  the  King,  "  in  a  paroxysm 
of  despair.  Your  army  has  been  completely  routed.  I 
cannot  say  how  many  of  your  officers  are  killed,  taken 
prisoners,  or  missing."  On  his  return  from  Germany, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  sent  for  him  to  endeavour  to 
console  him,  and  took  him  herself  to  Choisy,  where  the 
King  then  was.  Louis  received  the  crestfallen  general  with 
much  kindness,  invited  him  to  join  his  supper-party  that 
evening,  and  gave  him  to  understand  that,  in  spite  of  his 

^  Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  p.  196. 

3+1 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

ill-success  in  war,  he  had  not  forfeited  his  royal  master's 
good  opinion/ 

But  the  sympathy  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  and  the 
kindness  of  the  King  could  not  atone  to  Soubise  for  the 
tempest  of  ridicule  with  which  the  Parisians  assailed  him, 
One  lampoon  represented  him  searching  for  his  lost  army 
with  a  lantern ;  another  gravely  announced  that  the  Hotel 
de  Soubise  was  to  let,  as  its  noble  owner  intended  to 
enter  himself  as  a  pupil  at  the  Military  School ;  while 
a  third  informed  the  public  that  the  prince  intended 
to  build  a  palace  to  celebrate  his  late  campaign  with 
the  stones  which  he  anticipated  would  be  thrown  at 
him. 

The  unfortunate  man,  who  was  extremely  sensitive  to 
public  opinion,  was  in  despair.  "  M.  de  Soubise,"  writes 
Madame  de  Pompadour  to  her  confidante,  Madame  de 
Lutzelbourg,  "  is  in  the  last  extremity  of  grief.  You 
know  my  affection  for  him  and  can  imagine  my  indigna- 
tion at  the  shameful  injustice  with  which  he  has  been 
treated  in  Paris,  for  in  his  army  he  is  esteemed  and 
beloved  as  he  deserves."  However,  Soubise  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  make  amends  for  his  weakness  in 
having  accepted  a  post  for  which  he  was  so  manifestly 
unfit,  by  voluntarily  resigning  his  command  and  offering 
to  serve  as  a  lieutenant-general  under  Richelieu.  But 
Madame  de  Pompadour  took  care  that  the  resignation 
should  not  be  accepted.  She  felt  that  her  own  honour 
was  bound  up  with  that  of  her  henchman,  and  insisted 
that  an  opportunity  should  be  given  him  of  retrieving 

1  Soubise  was  not  ungrateful.  Seventeen  years  later  when,  amid  the 
execrations  of  the  people,  the  body  of  Louis  XV.  was  being  conveyed 
to    Saint-Denis,   the   prince  was    the  only   courtier    who  followed    the 

coffin. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

his  reputation.  So,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of 
Bernis,  and  in  defiance  of  public  opinion,  Soubise  was 
sent  to  invade  Hesse  in  the  following  spring  in  com- 
mand of  an  army  of  30,000  men,  composed  of  the  sur- 
vivors of  Rossbach  and  a  body  of  Wiirtembergers  which 
had  been  subsidised  by  France. 


343 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

Bernis  urges  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  use  her  influence  on 
the  side  of  peace — The  favourite  resolved  to  continue  the  war 
— "  Let  us  crush  the  Attila  of  the  North  !  " — Bernis  appeals 
to  the  King  and  the  Council — The  Comte  de  Clermont  super- 
sedes Richelieu  in  Hanover — Deplorable  condition  in  which  he 
finds  the  French  army — His  efforts  to  restore  discipline — 
Madame  de  Pompadour's  letters  to  him — The  French  retreat 
across  the  Rhine — Incapacity  of  Clermont — Remonstrances  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour — Disgraceful  defeat  at  Crefeld — 
Clermont's  letter  to  Louis  XV. — He  returns  to  Paris — And 
is  lampooned — The  Due  d'Aiguillon  repulses  the  English  at 
Saint-Cast — Madame  de  Pompadour  sends  him  a  letter  of  con- 
gratulation— Bernis  again  urges  the  necessity  of  peace — Scene 
between  the  Minister  and  the  favourite — Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour determines  to  get  rid  of  him — The  Comte  de  Stainville, 
French  Ambassador  at  Vienna,  fails  to  carry  out  Bernis's 
instructions — And  encourages  the  war  party  in  Austria — He 
returns  to  France,  enters  the  Council,  and  is  made  Due  de 
Choiseul — The  favourite  and  Choiseul  resolve  on  the  disgrace 
of  Bernis — Their  duplicity  towards  him — The  making  of  a 
cardinal — Dismissal  and  exile  of  Bernis. 

We  have  already  related  how  strongly  Bernis  had  en- 
deavoured to  dissuade  Madame  de  Pompadour  from  her 
project  of  an  Austrian  alliance,  and  with  what  misgivings 
he  had  ultimately  consented  to  allow  himself  to  be 
made  a  party  to  it.  Hitherto,  however,  none  of  his 
apprehensions  had  been  justified.  The  desperate  state 
to   which   Frederick   had  been  reduced  after  his  defeat 

344 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

at  Kollin  (June  i8)  argued  well  for  the  success  of 
the  coalition  in  Eastern  Europe ;  while  the  conquest 
of  Minorca,  the  victory  of  Hastenbeck,  and  the  Con- 
vention of  Kloster-Zeven,  if  they  had  accomplished  little 
else,  had  worthily  upheld  the  honour  of  the  French 
flag.  But  Rossbach  had  undone  everything.  It  had 
given  Frederick  a  fresh  lease  of  life  ;  it  had  reanimated 
the  courage  of  his  allies ;  it  had  rendered  the  convention 
signed  by  Richelieu  and  Cumberland  mere  waste  paper. 
From  that  hour  the  Foreign  Minister  resolved  to  use  all 
his  influence  to  put  a  stop  to  the  war. 

He,  accordingly,  went  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  and 
strongly  urged  upon  her  the  advisability  of  concluding 
peace  while  there  was  still  a  chance  of  doing  so  on  honour- 
able and,  possibly,  advantageous  terms,  pointing  out  that 
the  defeat  at  Rossbach  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  long 
train  of  disasters,  as  the  operations  which  had  already 
taken  place  had  revealed  the  wretched  incapacity  of  the 
French  commanders  and  the  demoralisation  of  the  troops  ; 
that  the  accession  of  Pitt  to  office  was  a  guarantee  that 
the  maritime  and  colonial  war  would  be  carried  on  with 
the  utmost  vigour  by  England  ;  that  the  navy  was  quite 
incapable  of  coping  with  that  of  the  enemy,  with  the 
result  that  the  fleet  would  be  annihilated  and  the 
colonies,  the  source  and  foundation  of  the  country's 
commercial  wealth,  would  be  lost.  He  declared  that 
no  concessions  that  Austria  might  be  able  to  make 
could  possibly  compensate  France  for  the  loss  of  her 
colonies,  and  that,  if  the  Empress  was  determined  to 
continue  the  war,  the  King  ought  not  to  sacrifice  the 
interests  of  his  realm  for  those  of  a  foreign  sovereign.-^ 

But  Madame  de   Pompadour   scouted   the    very   idea 

1  Me  moires  et  Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Beriiis^  ii.  42  et  seq. 

345 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  peace.  The  Austrian  alliance  she  regarded  as  her 
own  work,  a  system  with  which  her  honour  and  her  inter- 
ests were  inextricably  bound  up.  Peace,  and  at  such  a 
moment,  would  mean  the  ruin  of  that  work,  the  solemn 
condemnation  of  that  system,  an  intolerable  humilia- 
tion to  her  pride,  a  death-blow  to  her  ambitious  hopes. 
Besides,  why  should  she  sue  for  peace .?  Had  she  not 
had  an  example  before  her  eyes,  in  the  person  of  her 
enemy  Frederick,  of  a  man  reduced  to  desperate  straits 
who  had  refused  to  abandon  hope,  and  had  succeeded 
in  retrieving  in  a  single  day — almost  in  a  single  hour — a 
series  of  disasters .?  Was  she  reduced  as  low  as  he  had 
been?  And,  if  she  were,  should  she  show  herself  less 
resolute  and  less  courageous  than  he  had  done  ?  And 
was  she  to  yield,  too,  at  a  time  when  libels  and 
lampoons  were  raining  upon  her  and  the  commander 
she  had  appointed,  and  let  it  be  said  that  the  noisy 
canaille  of  Paris  had  intimidated  her  into  abandoning 
her  policy  and  betraying  the  confidence  of  her  royal 
ally .? 

Perish  the  thought  1  She  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
arguments  and  entreaties  of  Bernis,  and,  sitting  down  at 
her  desk,  wrote  to  Kaunitz :  "I  hate  the  conqueror 
more  than  I  have  ever  done.  Let  us  put  forth  every 
effort ;  let  us  crush  the  Attila  of  the  North  ;  and  you 
will  see  me  as  contented  as  I  am  now  mortified." 

Foiled  in  one  quarter,  Bernis  turned  to  another — he 
appealed  to  the  King  and  the  Council.  He  told  them 
that  without  generals,  ships,  or  money — for  the  subsi- 
dies France  had  so  rashly  undertaken  to  pay  were  fast 
emptying  the  already  depleted  Treasury — it  was  absolute 
madness  to  continue  the  double  continental  and  mari- 
time war,  and  succeeded  in  frightening  Louis  sufficiently 

346 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

to  wring  from  him  a  reluctant  permission  to  sound 
the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  on  the  question  of  peace,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  approach  the  Spanish  Court,  with 
the  view  of  inducing  it  to  offer  an  armed  mediation, 
whereby  favourable  terms  might  be  extorted  from 
England.  From  that  moment  Bernis  was  ruined  in 
the  favour  of  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

Meanwhile  the  war  went  on.  In  February  1758  the 
complaints  and  expostulations  with  regard  to  Richelieu's 
depredations  in  Hanover,  where  he  had  passed  the 
winter,  became  so  loud  that  the  Government  had  no 
option  but  to  recall  him,  and  the  Comte  de  Clermont, 
a  member  of  the  Conde  family,^  and,  like  Soubise,  a 
great  friend  of  the  favourite,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 
The  count  was  nominally  an  ecclesiastic  and  Abb6  of 
Saint-Germain-des-Pr6s ;  but  in  1733  he  had  received  a 
dispensation  from  Pope  Clement  XII.  which  permitted 
him  to  bear  arms  without  renouncing  his  benefices. 
He  knew,  however,  "  more  of  boudoirs  and  green-rooms 
than  of  camps."  ^  When  Frederick  heard  of  the 
abbe's  appointment,  he  laughed  and  said  that  he  hoped 
the  next  general  sent  would  be  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris. 

1  He  was  the  third  son  of  Louis  III.,  Due  de  Bourbon,  Prince  de 
Conde  and  of  "  Mademoiselle  de  Nantes,"  a  natural  daughter  of  Louis 
XIV.  by  Madame  de  Montespan. 

2  He  was  the  protector  of  Mademoiselle  Camargo,  who,  according  to 
Grimm,  was  the  first  danseuse  at  the  Opera  to  adopt  short  skirts.  Another 
of  his  favourites  was  Mademoiselle  Le  Due,  a  star  of  the  same  firmament, 
who,  Barbier  tells  us,  used  to  drive  about  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  covered 
with  diamonds,  in  a  little  carriage  of  blue  and  silver,  drawn  by  six  ponies 
"  no  bigger  than  donkeys,"  a  proceeding  which  "  not  only  wounded  the 
amour-propre  ol  2\\  the  ladies,  but  scandalized  the  public,  and  gave  rise  to 
some  biting  lampoons  at  the  expense  of  M.  I'Abbe." 

3+7 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Clermont  found  the  French  troops  in  a  most  de- 
plorable condition  through  disease,  want,  and  lack  of 
discipline.  "  I  have  found  your  Majesty's  army,"  he 
writes  to  the  King,  "  divided  into  three  parts :  one 
above  ground  composed  of  bandits  and  robbers,  another 
under  the  ground,  and  the  third  in  hospital.  Shall 
I  retreat  with  the  first  division,  or  wait  till  one  of  the 
others  has  joined  me  ?  "  However,  he  did  what  he  could 
to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  unfortunate  soldiers  and 
to  restore  discipline,  put  a  dishonest  commissary  in  irons, 
ordered  another  to  be  hanged,  and  caused  over  fifty 
officers,  who  had  absented  themselves  from  their  regi- 
ments without  leave,  to  be  cashiered.  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  who  seems  to  have  taken  upon  herself  the 
duties  of  Secretary  for  War,  kept  up  an  active  corres- 
pondence with  the  new  commander. 

"You  can  judge  of  my  despair,  monseigneur,"  she 
writes,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from  Clermont  complain- 
ing of  the  shocking  condition  of  the  troops,  *'  by 
your  knowledge  of  my  attachment  to  the  King  and 
the  State.  You  yourself,  too,  count  for  much  in  my 
anxieties.  It  is  dreadful  for  you  to  arrive  at  the  moment 
when  the  army  is  on  the  verge  of  ruin,  and  to  have 
brought  no  remedy  with  you.  I  trust  that  your  posi- 
tion on  the  Rhine  will  be  sufficiently  strong  to  allow 
you  time  for  those  reforms  which  are  absolutely  indis- 
pensable if  the  King  is  to  have  any  soldiers  left  at  all. 
The  order  which  you  have  issued  against  those  rascals 
(the  commissaries)  has  had  a  good  effect  in  your  army. 
Go  on,  monseigneur ;  do  not  be  discouraged  by  the 
obstacles  of  every  kind  which  you  are  encountering. 
You  will  be  the  means  of  restoring  discipline,  and,  that 
accomplished,   you    will    achieve    things    worthy   of  the 

348 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

loftiness  of  your  soul,  and  which  will  compensate  you 
for  the  difficulties  you  have  had  to  deal  with."  ^ 

Although  Clermont  appears  to  have  been  a  good  dis- 
ciplinarian, and  honestly  anxious  for  the  comfort  and 
efficiency  of  his  men,  he  was  no  more  fortunate,  when  it 
came  to  fighting,  than  Soubise  had  been.  Notwithstand- 
ing that  the  Hanoverian  army  was  much  inferior  in 
numbers  to  the  French,  its  new  commander,  Ferdinand 
of  Brunswick,  who  had  succeeded  the  incompetent  Cum- 
berland, did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  aggressive.  Before 
the  winter  was  over,  he  advanced,  forced  the  French  to 
evacuate  Bremen  and  Verden,  compelled  the  garrison  of 
Minden  to  capitulate,  and  drove  Clermont  in  confusion 
across  the  Rhine.  A  few  weeks  later  Ferdinand  fol- 
lowed him,  and  passed  the  river  without  apparently 
encountering  the  slightest  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  French ;  for,  on  June  5,  we  find  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour writing  to  Clermont :  "  What  humiliation,  mon- 
seigneur !  To  allow  a  thousand  men  to  land  and  build 
a  bridge  over  the  Rhine !  I  cannot  describe  to  you 
the  excess  of  my  grief;  it  is  in  proportion  to  the  dis- 
grace that  has  overtaken  us."  ^  And  in  her  next  letter 
she  informs  him  that  she  is  suffering  from  an  attack 
of  fever,  "brought  on  by  agitation  and  disappointment." 
Old  Belle-Isle,  who  had  lately  succeeded  "  cet  excrement 
de  Paulniy''''  as  Minister  for  War,  sent  Clermont  per- 
emptory orders  to  attack  the  enemy ;  but  the  general 
seemed  utterly  bewildered,  and,  instead  of  doing  so, 
kept  moving  his  army  about  in  a  helpless  sort  of 
manner,  and  wrote  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  com- 
plain that  he  could  not  understand  what  he  was  required 

^   Quoted  in  E.  and  J.  de  Goncourt's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  p.  281. 
2   Bonhomme's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  General  d' Armee,  p.  128. 

349 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

to  do.  In  reply,  he  received  a  very  sharp  reprimand 
from  the  lady  : — 

"  I  must  confess,  monseigneur,  that  the  letter  with 
which  you  honour  me  has  astounded  me.  Marechal 
de  Belle-Isle  has  never  desired  anything  but  for  you  to 
engage  the  enemy  and  force  him  to  retire.  His  letters 
have  all  been  read  at  the  Council,  as  he  was  of  opinion 
that  his  orders  to  fight  were  too  positive  to  send  you 
without  the  sanction  of  the  King.  After  the  facts  of 
which  I  am  aware,  I  can  listen  to  nothing  more  about 
what  you  do  me  the  honour  to  write  to  me.  The 
King's  desire  is  that  you  compel  the  enemy  to  retire ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  his  Majesty  can  do  nothing 
more  than  leave  the  matter  to  your  discretion.  There, 
monseigneur !  that  is  the  exact  position  of  affairs.  Al- 
though the  fever  has  left  me,  I  suffer  still  from  severe 
headaches ;  they  do  not  make  me  forget  my  inviolable 
attachment  to  yourself."  ^ 

Whether  the  "  General  of  the  Benedictines,"  as 
Frederick  the  Great  contemptuously  called  him,  would 
ever  have  been  able  to  summon  up  sufficient  courage 
to  take  the  aggressive  must  remain  a  matter  for  con- 
jecture ;  for,  on  June  23,  some  days  before  this  letter 
reached  Clermont,  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick  saved  him  the 
trouble  of  coming  to  a  decision  by  suddenly  attacking 
the  left  wing  of  his  army  at  Crefeld.  The  French, 
surprised  and  outnumbered,  fought  bravely  enough,  and 
for  over  an  hour  and  a  half  kept  the  enemy  at  bay. 
But  Clermont,  who  seems  to  have  been  under  the 
impression  that  the  attack  was  a  mere  feint,  intended 
to  divert  attention  from  the  Hanoverians,  who  were 
threatening  his  own  position,  made  no  attempt  to  send 

^   Bonhomme's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  General  d' Armee,  p.  130. 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

them  reinforcements  ;  and  when  Ferdinand,  having  com- 
pletely routed  the  troops  opposed  to  him,  appeared  in  his 
rear,  at  once  ordered  the  whole  army  to  retreat,  though 
three-fourths  of  it  had  never  fired  a  shot. 

In  his  despatches  the  abbe-general  described  this  dis- 
graceful defeat  as  if  it  had  been  a  kind  of  skirmish,  and 
stated  that  "  the  loss  was  the  same  on  both  sides,"  and 
that  his  army  retreated  "  in  unbroken  order."  ^  The 
truth,  however,  soon  leaked  out,  and  Belle-Isle,  whose 
only  son  was  among  the  slain,  informed  him  that  hence- 
forth operations  must  be  directed  by  a  council  of  war, 
composed  of  himself  and  three  other  generals,  as  ap- 
parently the  responsibility  was  too  much  for  any  one 
man  to  undertake.  Thereupon  Clermont,  who  felt 
highly  aggrieved  at  such  an  imputation,  tendered  his  re- 
signation to  the  King  in  a  most  affecting  letter,  in  which 
he  states  that  his  exertions  in  his  Majesty's  service  have 
reduced  him  to  such  a  lamentable  state  of  health,  that  the 
surgeons  have  found  it  necessary  to  bleed  him  "  three 
times  in  twenty-four  hours,"  to  blister  him,  and  ad- 
minister an  emetic ;  that  willingly  would  he  sacrifice  his 
life  in  the  cause  of  his  beloved  sovereign,  but  that,  since 
his  Majesty  appears  no  longer  to  attach  any  value  to  it, 
he  considers  that  it  would  be  advisable  for  him  to  return 
home,  "  to  be  within  reach  of  the  necessary  remedies."  ^ 

This  was  also  the  opinion  of  the  Government,  and, 
after  some  haggling  as  to  whether  his  return  was  to  be 
officially  announced  as  a  recall  or  a  resignation,  Clermont 

1  Lacretelle  says  that,  as  soon  as  he  had  given  the  order  to  retreat, 
Clermont  fled  at  the  top  of  his  horse's  speed  to  his  headquarters  at  Nuys, 
where  he  inquired  if  many  of  the  fugitives  had  yet  arrived.  "  No,  mon- 
seigneur,"  was  the  reply,  "  you  are  the  first." 

2  Bonhomme's  Madame  de  Pompadour,  General  d' Armee,  p.  134. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

reappeared  in  Paris,  to  be  received,  like  Soubise,  with  a 
universal  howl  of  derision  : — 

"  Moitie  plumet,  moitie  rabat, 
Aussi  propre  a  I'un  comme  a  1' autre, 
Clermont  se  bat  comme  un  apotre 
Et  sert  Dieu  comme  il  se  bat."  ^ 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  de  Contades,  who 
would  appear  to  have  been  more  capable — or  less  in- 
capable— than  either  of  his  predecessors. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  received  some  little  com- 
pensation for  the  failure  of  Clermont  by  the  success 
of  another  of  her  friends,  the  Due  d'Aiguillon,  Governor 
of  Brittany,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  September,  repulsed 
at  Saint-Cast  an  English  force,  which  had  landed  for  the 
purpose  of  ravaging  the  coast.  The  favourite  hastened 
to  felicitate  the  victor. 

"  I  very  much  regret,  monsieur,  that  I  did  not  say 
all  that  it  was  in  my  mind  the  day  before  yesterday  in 
reference  to  the  glory  with  which  you  have  covered 
yourself,^  but  my  head  was  so  bad  that  I  lacked  strength 
to  write  a  line.  We  have  to-day  sung  your  Te  Deum^ 
and  I  assure  you  that  it  was  sung  with  great  satisfaction. 
I  had  predicted  your  success,  and,  indeed,  how  was  it 
possible  that,  with  so  much  zeal  and  intelligence,  a 
head  so  cool,  and  troops  which  burned,  like  their  leader, 
to  avenge  their  King,  you  should  have  failed  to  conquer  ^ 
That  would  have  been  an  impossibility.     A  little  note 

^  "  Half  plume,  half  bands,  as  fit  for  one  as  for  the  other,  Clermont 
fights  like  an  apostle,  and  serves  God  as  he  fights." 

2  The  duke's  enemies  asserted  that  he  covered  himself  with  flour  rather 
than  with  glory,  inasmuch  as  that  at  the  critical  moment  his  courage  failed 
him,  and  he  took  refuge  in  a  mill. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

that  I  had  written  you,  before  receiving  news  of  your 
brilliant  victory,  ought  to  apprise  you  of  my  opinion  of  you 
and  the  justice  of  my  representations.  Tell  me,  I  beg 
you,  candidly,  if  you  are  very  angry  with  me  for  having 
refused  to  yield  to  your  wishes  and  the  splendid  reasons 
you  adduced ;  they  were  worth  nothing  at  the  time,  and 
I  have  found  them  still  worse  to-day.^  Another  would 
not  have  acquitted  himself  as  well  as  you  have  ;  I  should 
have  been  in  despair,  instead  of  being  delighted,  and  you 
would  have  been  inconsolable,  and  with  good  reason. 
Dare  to  say  now  that  my  head  is  not  a  wiser  one  than 
yours ;  I  defy  you  to  do  it."  ^ 

No  sooner  was  Bernis  informed  of  the  real  extent  of 
the  defeat  at  Crefeld  than  he  decided  that  he  would  no 
longer  consent  "  to  dance  with  fetters  on  his  hands  and 
feet."  He,  accordingly,  again  sought  out  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  and,  showing  in  this  moment  of  disaster  an 
energy  and  courage  superior  to  his  character,  and  which 
considerably  astonished  the  haughty  favourite,  who  had 
always  regarded  him  as  one  of  the  most  submissive  of 
her  henchmen,  informed  her  of  his  intention  of  immedi- 
ately resigning  his  post  if  he  failed  to  persuade  the  King 
to  make  peace. 

The  marchioness  was  furious,  and  accused  the  Minister 
of  the  basest  ingratitude.  She  had  raised  him,  she  de- 
clared, from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  wealth  and  honour, 
and  now  that  he  had  nothing  more  to  gain,  he  proposed 
to  abandon  his  patroness  and  his  country  in  their  hour 

1  The  Bretons  were  not  easy  people  to  govern,  and  d'Aiguillon  had 
been  very  anxious  to  resign  his  post,  but  Madame  de  Pompadour  had 
persuaded  him  to  remain  in  Brittany. 

2  Autograph  letter  from  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  the  Due  d'Aiguillon, 
now  in  the  British  Museum. 

353  -56 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

of  trial  and  retire  to  a  life  of  ease  and  luxury.  Bernis 
replied  with  dignity  that  when  they  saw  him  resign  his 
benefices,  renounce  the  promised  cardinal's  hat,  and 
content  himself  with  a  single  abbey,^  the  King  and  the 
public  would  judge  him  more  favourably  than  she  seemed 
inclined  to  do. 

The  attitude  Bernis  had  taken  up  with  regard  to  the 
war  determined  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  lose  no  time 
in  getting  rid  of  him.  He  had  already  announced  his  in- 
tention of  resigning  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  if  the 
King  refused  to  allow  him  to  open  negotiations  for  peace; 
but  that  would  not  be  enough.  She  was  resolved  that 
the  man  who  had  had  the  audacity  to  prefer  the  interests 
of  his  country  to  that  of  a  foreign  power  should  be  made 
to  pay  dearly  for  his  temerity ;  that  he  should  not  only 
be  replaced  but  dismissed,  not  only  dismissed  but  exiled  ; 
that  his  return  to  office  should  be  made  impossible ;  that 
the  victory  of  the  military  party — of  the  party  of  war 
d  outrance — should  be  complete  and  final,  and  at  the 
same  time  patent  to  all  the  world. 

But  before  Bernis  could  be  got  rid  of,  some  one  must 
be  found  to  take  his  place,  and  some  one,  too,  who  would 
not  only  be  in  accord  with  her  own  views  on  the  war, 
but  would  command  the  confidence  of  the  King,  his  col- 
leagues, and  the  allies  of  France.  About  this,  however, 
she  was  not  long  in  making  up  her  mind. 

We  have  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter  a  certain 
Comte  de  Stainville,  who  had  rendered  a  very  consider- 
able service  to  Madame  de  Pompadour  by  betraying  to 

1  Bernis  was  abbe  of  Trois-Fontaines,  worth  50,000  llvres  a  year, 
and  of  Saint-Medard  de  Soissons,  worth  30,000  a  year,  and  prior  of 
La  Charite-sur-Loire,  which  brought  him  in  a  further  16,000.  He 
was  certainly  making  up  for  lost  time. 

354 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

her  the  confidences  of  his  cousin,  Madame  de  Choiseul- 
Romanet,  and  had  received  as  his  reward  the  post  of 
Ambassador  to  the  Vatican.  This  appointment,  in 
contrast  to  the  majority  of  those  made  by  the  favourite, 
had  proved  a  very  fortunate  one,  for  Stainville  was  an 
extremely  able  man,  and  it  had  been  mainly  through  his 
influence  that  Benedict  XIV.,  in  spite  of  the  most 
strenuous  opposition  from  the  bigoted  Cardinal  Valenti, 
his  Secretary  of  State,  had  consented  to  promulgate  the 
Bull  Ex  Omnibus  (October  1756),  which  had  done  not  a 
little  to  put  an  end  to  the  long  struggle  between  the 
French  clergy  and  the  Parliament  of  Paris. 

A  member  of  an  old  Lorraine  family,  several  of  whose 
members  had  entered  the  Austrian  service,  Stainville 
was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  policy  inaugurated  by 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  on  that  lady's  advice  he 
had,  in  the  spring  of  1756,  been  transferred  from  Rome 
to  Vienna.  Since  the  Choiseul-Romanet  affair  Stainville 
had  attached  himself  wholly  to  the  interests  of  the 
favourite,  in  the  belief  that  in  so  doing  he  would  best 
be  consulting  his  own.  So  long,  therefore,  as  he  re- 
cognised in  the  instructions  he  received  from  Bernis 
the  inspiration  of  the  marchioness  he  followed  them  im- 
plicitly, and,  not  hearing  anything  to  the  contrary  from 
the  latter,  had,  during  the  winter  of  1757-58,  obtained 
from  Maria  Theresa,  whose  warlike  ardour  had  been 
somewhat  damped  by  the  Austrian  defeat  at  Leuthen, 
which  had  followed  closely  upon  that  of  Rossbach,  a 
promise  to  seriously  consider  Bernis's  proposals  for 
peace.  But  the  moment  he  became  aware  of  the  grow- 
ing estrangement  between  the  Foreign  Minister  and  the 
marchioness,  he  changed  his  tone,  and,  instead  of  im- 
pressing upon  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna,  as  Bernis  directed 

355 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

him,  that  the  reconstruction  of  Europe  contemplated  by 
the  second  Treaty  of  Versailles  had  been  "  a  beautiful 
dream,  in  which  it  would  be  dangerous  to  indulge  any 
longer,"  he  artfully  stimulated  the  war  party  at  the 
Austrian  Court,  and  at  the  same  time  advised  the 
Minister  that  the  Empress  was  extremely  mortified  at 
his  suggestion  that  negotiations  should  be  opened  with 
Frederick,  as  the  disasters  that  her  armies  had  suffered 
could  be  easily  repaired,  and  resources  found  for  con- 
tinuing the  struggle. 

And  so  the  opportunity  of  ending  the  war  was  lost — 
an  opportunity  which  was  not  to  occur  again  until  tens 
of  thousands  of  men  had  fallen  and  millions  of  money 
had  been  spent.  As  the  months  went  by,  the  vindic- 
tive Empress,  encouraged  by  Frederick's  evacuation  of 
Bohemia,  the  reconquest  of  Saxony,  and  the  victory  of 
Hochkirch,  became  more  determined  on  the  humiliation 
of  Prussia  than  ever,  and  did  everything  in  her  power  to 
induce  the  Ministry  at  Versailles  to  continue  its  support. 
She  abandoned  her  claims  to  the  arrears  of  subsidies  due 
from  France ;  she  consented  to  a  reduction  of  those  to  be 
paid  that  year;  she  offered  further  cessions  in  the  Nether- 
lands ;  she  wrote  to  the  King  with  her  own  hand  to 
pique  his  amour-propre^  and  sent  through  Kaunitz  most 
gracious  messages  to  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

That  lady  now  resolved  to  recall  Stainville  and  make 
him  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  She  had  no  difficulty 
in  obtaining  the  King's  consent.  Bernis's  health  was 
much  impaired  by  the  strain  and  anxiety  of  the  past 
twelve  months  ;  he  had  already  asked  Louis  to  accept 
his  resignation,  and  had  himself  suggested  Stainville  as 
his  successor.  The  diplomatist  was,  accordingly,  recalled, 
and  on  his  arrival  in  November,  created  a  duke,  under  the 

356 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

title  of  Due  de  ChoiseuL  It  was  arranged  that  he  was 
to  reheve  Bernis  of  his  duties  as  soon  as  the  King  could 
see  his  way  to  release  the  abb6,  and  in  the  meanwhile  he 
was  to  assist  the  latter  at  the  Foreign  Office  and  make 
himself  conversant  with  its  routine. 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  next  step  was  to  disgrace 
Bernis.  After  consultation  with  Stainville — or  Choiseul, 
as  we  must  now  call  him — who  was  himself  anxious  for 
the  abbd's  dismissal,  since  even  when  the  latter  had 
ceased  to  be  Foreign  Minister,  he  would  probably  still 
retain  his  place  in  the  Council,  and  thus  be  able  to 
exercise  considerable  influence  on  the  side  of  peace,  she 
decided  that  it  would  be  best  to  defer  her  "  coup  de 
poignard'''' — to  borrow  the  intended  victim's  own  ex- 
pression— for  a  few  weeks.  An  assembly  of  the  clergy 
was  being  held ;  Bernis  had  promised  to  use  his  influence 
to  obtain  from  them  a  considerable  gratuity.  Negotia- 
tions were  in  progress  with  the  Parliament  of  Paris  to 
induce  them  to  register  an  edict  of  the  King  for  the 
raising  of  a  loan  of  forty  million  livres ;  Bernis's  popu- 
larity with  the  gentlemen  of  the  long  robe  could  alone 
carry  the  matter  through.  So  everything  was  done  to 
disarm  the  abbe's  suspicions.  He  was  informed  that  he 
was  to  remain  in  the  Council ;  the  King  created  a  new 
department  for  him  for  the  regulation  of  the  afi^airs  of 
the  clergy  and  the  Parliament,  and  a  handsome  suite  of 
apartments  in  the  palace  was  placed  at  his  disposal ;  while 
Choiseul  overwhelmed  him  with  protestations  of  friend- 
ship, assured  him  that  when  he  became  Foreign  Minister 
he  should  not  think  of  taking  any  important  step  without 
his  advice,  and  actually  suggested  that  they  should  receive 
the  Ambassadors  and  conduct  the  business  of  the  depart- 
ment together,  "  as  if  two  heads  could  go  into  one  hat." 

357 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Bern'is  was  not  deceived.  He  was  convinced  that  all 
these  favours  and  friendly  overtures  were  only  ruses  to 
retain  his  services  until  such  time  as  it  would  suit 
Madame  de  Pompadour  to  dispense  with  them,  which 
would  no  doubt  be  as  soon  as  the  financial  negotiations 
then  proceeding  had  been  concluded.  However,  like 
the  honest  man  that  he  was,  he  did  not  allow  personal 
considerations  to  interfere  with  what  he  believed  to  be 
his  duty,  and,  mainly  through  his  good  offices,  the 
clergy  voted  a  gratuity  and  the  Parliament  consented  to 
register  the  edict. 

For  some  time  past  negotiations  had  been  going  on 
with  the  view  of  obtaining  a  cardinal's  hat  for  Bernis. 
These  had  been  interrupted  by  the  death  of  Benedict 
XIV.,  but  were  now  completed,  and  on  November  30 
the  abbe  blossomed  into  a  prince  of  the  Church.  The 
account  of  the  ceremonial  observed  on  this  occasion,  as 
given  by  the  Gazette  de  France  of  that  date,  is  not 
without  interest  : — 

*'  The  Sieur  de  la  Live,  introducer  of  the  Ambassadors, 
went  to-day,  in  the  coaches  of  the  King  and  Queen,  to 
fetch  the  Cardinal  de  Bernis  from  his  hotel  and  conduct 
him  and  the  Abbe  Archinto,  the  Pope's  chamberlain, 
who  had  been  deputed  by  His  Holiness  to  convey  the 
biretta  to  the  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  to  the  King's  apartments. 
Before  mass  the  Abbe  Archinto  was  conducted  with  the 
usual  ceremonies  to  an  audience  which  the  King  had 
granted  him  in  his  cabinet,  and  presented  to  His  Majesty 
a  brief  from  His  Holiness.  After  this  audience  the  King 
descended  to  the  chapel,  where,  when  mass  was  over, 
the  Cardinal  de  Bernis  presented  himself,  under  the  escort 
of  the  same  introducer.  The  Sieur  Desgranges,  master 
of  the  ceremonies,  received  the  Cardinal  de  Bernis  at  the 

358 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

chapel  door,  and  the  latter  took  his  place  close  to  the 
priedieu  of  the  King,  on  the  side  on  which  the  Gospel 
is  read,  and  knelt  in  prayer.  The  Abbe  Archinto,  wear- 
ing his  ceremonial  robes,  having  placed  in  the  cardinal's 
hand  the  Papal  brief,  took  from  a  side-board  near  the 
altar,  on  the  side  upon  which  the  Epistle  is  read,  a  silver- 
gilt  basin  upon  which  stood  the  biretta  and  presented  it  to 
the  King.  His  Majesty  took  the  biretta  and  placed  it  on 
the  head  of  the  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  who,  on  receiving  it, 
made  a  profound  reverence  and,  at  the  same  moment, 
uncovered.  On  the  King  turning  to  leave  the  chapel, 
the  Cardinal  de  Bernis  entered  the  vestry,  where  he 
assumed  the  robes  belonging  to  his  new  dignity.  He 
then  ascended  to  the  King's  apartments,  accompanied  by 
the  master  of  the  ceremonies  ;  and  the  Sieur  de  la  Live, 
who  had  remained  all  this  time  with  the  Cardinal  de 
Bernis,  conducted  him  to  the  King's  cabinet,  where  the 
cardinal  thanked  His  Majesty.  The  Cardinal  de  Bernis 
was  next  conducted,  with  the  same  ceremonies,  to  an 
audience  with  the  Queen,  and  presented  to  her  the  Abbe 
Archinto,  who  handed  Her  Majesty  a  Papal  brief.  Dur- 
ing this  audience  a  stool  was  brought,  and  the  Cardinal 
de  Bernis  sat  down.-^  He  was  afterwards  conducted  to 
audiences  with  Monseigneur  le  Dauphin,  Madame  la 
Dauphine,  Monseigneur  le  Due  de  Bourgogne,  Mon- 
seigneur le  Due  de  Berry,  Monseigneur  le  Comte  de 
Provence,  Monseigneur  le  Comte  d'Artois,  Madame 
Infante,  Madame,  and  Mesdames  Sophie,  Victoire,  and 
Louise.  After  all  these  audiences  were  over,  the  Cardinal 
de  Bernis  was  conducted  by  the  same  introducer  to  the 

^  Bernis  was  now,  in  virtue  of  his  rank  as  a  prince  of  the  Church, 
addressed  by  crowned  heads  as  ^'^  mon  cousin,"  and  permitted  to  sit  in 
tlieir  presence. 

359 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

coaches  of  the  King  and  Queen,  with  the  same  cere- 
monies as  when  he  was  conducted  to  the  King's 
apartments."  ^ 

The  King  was  very  gracious  to  Bernis  on  this  occasion, 
and  remarked,  loud  enough  for  those  standing  by  to  hear, 
"  I  have  never  made  so  handsome  a  cardinal."  But  the 
Minister  was  none  the  less  certain  that  his  disgrace  was 
near  at  hand,  and  welcomed  the  hat  merely  as  some  pro- 
tection against  the  storm  which  was  about  to  burst  upon 
his  head.  As  he  was  returning  from  the  chapel,  sur- 
rounded by  the  Ambassadors,  and  the  representatives  of 
the  clergy  and  the  Parliament  who  had  assisted  at  the 
ceremony,  a  courtier  bowed  to  him  and  exclaimed, 
"  Monseigneur  le  Cardinal^  voilh  un  beau  jour !  " 

"  Dites  plutot  que  voila  un  bon  parapluie^''  responded 
Bernis. 

He  was  not  mistaken.  It  was  on  the  13th  of 
December  that  he  succeeded  in  persuading  the  reluctant 
Parliament  to  register  the  edict,  and  on  the  very  next 
day  he  received  the  following  letter  from  his  ungrateful 
master : — 

"  To  MY  Cousin  the  Cardinal  de  Bernis. 

"  The  repeated  requests  that  you  have  made  to  me  to 
be  allowed  to  resign  the  department  of  Foreign  Affairs 
has  persuaded  me  that  you  have  not  efficiently  discharged 
the  duties  of  which  you  so  earnestly  desire  to  be  relieved, 
and  this  reflection  has  determined  me  to  accept  your 
resignation  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  But  I 
have  felt  at  the  same  time  that  you  have  not  deserved 
the  confidence  which  I  have  shown  you  in  such  critical 
circumstances,    nor   the   singular   favours   with   which   I 

*  Memoires  et  Letters  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  ii,  94. 
360 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

have  loaded  you  in  so  short  a  time.  In  consequence, 
I  command  you  to  retire  to  one  of  your  abbeys, 
whichever  you  prefer,  within  forty-eight  hours  and 
without  seeing  any  one  in  the  meantime,  and  to  remain 
there  until  I  direct  you  to  return.  Send  me  any  letters 
of  mine  which  you  may  have  in  your  possession,  in  a 
sealed  packet.  And  I  pray  God,  my  cousin,  that  He 
may  have  you  in  His  holy  keeping.  At  Versailles,  this 
13th  day  of  December. 

"Signed,  Louis,"  ^ 

When  this  letter  was  handed  to  Bernis,  he  was  at  the 
Austrian  Embassy,  in  consultation  with  Stahremberg.  He 
broke  the  seals,  glanced  over  it,  and  then,  turning  to  the 
Ambassador,  said  gaily,  "  It  is  not  to  me  that  you  must 
explain  these  great  projects.  See,  here  is  my  dismissal !  " 
And,  after  conversing  with  the  Ambassador  for  some 
minutes  on  indifferent  topics,  he  retired,  leaving  Stahrem- 
berg astonished  at  his  coolness. 

The  cardinal,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  by  no  means 
unprepared  for  the  blow,  had  not  expected  it  quite  so 
soon,  and  had,  indeed,  endeavoured  to  anticipate  it  by 
requesting  Louis's  permission  to  resign  and  retire  into 
private  life,  hoping  that  he  might  still  be  allowed  to 
reside  either  at  Versailles  or  in  Paris  ;  but  the  malice 
of  the  haughty  woman  whom  he  had  dared  to  oppose 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  banishment. 
He  attributes  the  precipitation  of  his  disgrace  to  the 
announcements  made  by  several  of  the  foreign  Am- 
bassadors of  his  coming  elevation  to  the  post  of  Prime 
Minister.  "Their  letters,"  he  says,  "having  been  inter- 
cepted by  the  Post-Office,  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who 

1   Introduction  to  Memolres  et  Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  p.   1 16. 

361 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

could  no  longer  endure  me,  no  doubt  easily  persuaded 
the  King  that  I  should  force  his  hand  if  he  did  not  exile 
me  to  one  of  my  abbeys  "  ^ 

It  was  commonly  reported  that  the  cardinal's  dismissal 
had  been  brought  about  by  a  memorial  which  he  had 
sent  to  the  King  urging  that  in  a  great  national  crisis, 
such  as  the  country  was  then  passing  through,  it  was 
imperative  that  there  should  be  a  central  point  in  the 
Council,  to  which  the  other  Ministers  might  look  for 
guidance,  and  that  Louis,  on  perusing  it,  exclaimed  (accord- 
ing to  Quesnay's  account),  "  Central  point  ?  That  means 
himself,  I  suppose.  He  wants  to  be  Prime  Minister. 
Whenever  there  is  a  cardinal  in  the  Council,  he  is  sure 
in  the  end  to  take  the  lead."  And  that,  believing  he  saw 
in  poor  Bernis  an  incipient  Richelieu,  he  resolved  to  get 
rid  of  him  without  delay.^ 

This  story  is  only  partly  true.  The  cardinal  did  write 
such  a  memorial,  but  he  suggested  that  Belle-Isle,  the 
Minister  for  War,  should  be  the  central  pointy  on  account 
of  his  great  experience,  "  or  whomever  his  Majesty 
might  prefer."  Moreover,  the  memorial  never  reached 
the  King,  as  Madame  de  Pompadour,  whom  he  asked 
to  deliver  it,  strongly  advised  him  not  to  send  it,  upon 
which  Bernis  destroyed  it  in  her  presence.  It  is  more 
than  probable,  however,  that  the  marchioness  gave  the 
monarch  a  garbled  version  of  the  document,  and  that 
this,  combined  with  Louis's  annoyance  at  the  reports  the 
Ambassadors  were  sending  their  Governments,  produced 
the  result  she  desired. 

Bernis  retired  to  his  abbey  of  Saint-Medard  de  Soissons, 
leaving   behind   him  the   reputation  of  an   amiable  and 

^   Memoir es  et   Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  ii.  93. 
2  Me  moires  de  Madame  du  Hausset  (edit.   1825),  p.   Ii6. 
362 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

accomplished  man  and  a  devoted  public  servant,  who 
had  striven  to  the  utmost  to  repair  the  consequences  of 
the  fatal  policy  for  which  he  had  been  weak  enough  to 
allow  himself  to  be  made  responsible.  After  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  death  in  1764  he  was  recalled  and  made 
Archbishop  of  Albi,  and  five  years  later  sent  as  Am- 
bassador to  the  Vatican.  In  Rome,  where  we  are  told 
he  united  "  the  dignity  of  an  Ambassador,  the  polish  of 
a  courtier,  and  the  austerity  of  a  priest,"  he  appears  to 
have  been  much  esteemed,  and  lived  in  great  magnificence 
keeping  open  house  for  all  his  countrymen  and  enter- 
taining in  princely  fashion  the  various  sovereigns  who 
visited  the  Eternal  City.  When  the  Revolution  broke 
out,  he  was  deprived  of  his  embassy  and  his  benefices,  but 
the  King  of  Spain  granted  him  a  pension,  on  which  he 
lived  till  1794. 


363 


CHAPTER    XIX 

Choiseul  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs — His  personal  appearance 
— His  character — He  obtains  ascendency  over  the  other  Minis- 
ters— He  is  suspected  of  being  the  lover  of  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour— New  treaty  with  Austria — Frederick  is  hard  pressed 
— Continued  French  disasters — Appalling  financial  condition 
of  the  country — Silhouette  becomes  Comptroller-General — His 
expedients  for  raising  money — The  King  sends  the  royal  plate 
to  the  Mint — The  Court  and  capital  follow  suit — Dismissal  of 
Silhouette — Successes  of  the  Due  de  Broglie — Soubise  is  sent 
by  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  co-operate  with  him — Jealousy 
between  the  two  generals  leads  to  defeat  at  Vellinghausen — 
Broglie  is  recalled  and  exiled — Scene  at  the  Theatre-Frangais 
— Futile  negotiations  for  peace — Choiseul  concludes  the  Family 
Compact — Fall  of  Pitt — Bute,  his  successor,  eager  for  peace — 
Treaty  of  Paris — Disastrous  consequences  to  France  of  the 
Seven  Years'  War — Erection  of  an  equestrian  statue  of  Louis 
XV. — Ridicule  it  arouses — The  Jesuits — Their  degeneracy 
and  unpopularity — Pombal  expels  them  from  Portugal — The 
affair  of  Father  La  Vallette — Failure  of  a  Jesuit  intrigue  to 
overthrow  Choiseul — Madame  de  Pompadour  resolved  on  the 
destruction  of  the  Jesuits  —  Proceedings  of  the  Parliament 
against  them — Ecclesiastical  commission  appointed  to  examine 
their  Constitutions  —  "  Sint  ut  sunt  aut  non  s'tnt  !  "  —  The 
favourite  and  Choiseul  persuade  Louis  XV.  to  abandon  them — 
The  Society  is  suppressed  in  France — Caricature  representing 
Madame  de  Pompadour  shooting  the  Jesuits. 

The  Due  de  Choiseul,  who  now  succeeded  Bernis  as 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  at  this  time  about 
thirty-eight  years  of  age.      His  appearance  was   by  no 

364 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

means  in  his  favour,  as  he  was  plain  to  the  verge  of 
ugliness,  while  his  figure  was  "  what  one  might  call 
awkward ; "  ^  but,  on  the  other  hand,  his  manners,  we 
are  assured,  were  so  charming  that  immediately  he 
began  to  speak  these  defects  were  forgotten,  and  his 
popularity  with  the  fair  sex  was  unbounded. 

Haughty,  resolute,  and  daring,  full  of  energy,  self- 
confidence,  and  pertinacity,  Choiseul  made  his  weight 
felt  from  the  very  moment  he  entered  the  Council,  and, 
while  stooping  to  secure  his  position  by  complaisance 
to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  he  knew  how  to  use  her 
influence  to  secure  his  own  ends.  A  greater  contrast 
to  the  well-meaning  Bernis,  who,  according  to  Madame 
du  Hausset,  "  always  had  the  air  of  a  proteg6  about 
him,"  could  scarcely  be  conceived.  Although  never  a 
statesman  of  really  first-rate  abilities,  he  seemed  to  the 
pygmies  who  formed  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles  a  kind  of 
great  man,  and  for  the  first  time  since  the  death  of 
Fleury  there  was  a  Prime  Minister  in  France. 

It  appears  to  have  been  the  general  opinion  among  his 
contemporaries  that  Choiseul  was  something  more  than  a 
proteg6  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  Senac  de  Meil- 
han  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  "  no  one  could  possibly 
doubt  that  he  was  her  lover."  ^  On  the  other  hand, 
Madame  du  Hausset,  who  was  certainly  in  a  position  to 
know,  since  she  enjoyed  her  mistress's  entire  confidence, 
absolutely  denies  that  there  was  any  truth  in  the 
rumour. 

"  Now  that  I  am  on  the  subject  of  lovers,"  she  says, 
"  I  cannot  avoid  speaking  of  M.  de  Choiseul.  Madame 
liked  him  better  than  any  one  of  those  I  have  just  men- 

^   Senac  de  Meilhan's  Portraits  et  Caracteres,  p.  29. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  33. 

365 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

tioned,^  but  he  was  not  her  lover,  .  .  .  Madame  had  a 
lively  imagination  and  great  sensibility,  but  nothing  could 
exceed  the  coldness  of  her  temperament.  Besides,  it 
would  have  been  extremely  difficult  for  her,  surrounded 
as  she  was,  to  keep  up  an  intercourse  of  that  kind  with 
any  man.  It  is  true  the  difficulty  would  have  been 
diminished  in  the  case  of  an  all-powerful  Minister  who 
had  constant  opportunities  of  seeing  her  in  private.  But 
there  was  a  much  more  decisive  fact ;  M.  de  Choiseul 
had  a  charming  mistress — the  Princesse  de  R.^ — and 
Madame  knew  it  and  often  spoke  of  her.  He  had  also 
some  remains  of  liking  for  the  Princesse  de  Kinski,  who 
had  followed  him  from  Vienna.^  .  .  .  All  these  circum- 
stances together  were  certainly  sufficient  to  deter  Madame 
from  engaging  in  an  amour  with  the  duke  ;  but  his  talents 
and  agreeable  qualities  captivated  her.  .  .  .  He  was 
much  attached  to  Madame,  and  though  this  might  at 
first  be  inspired  by  a  consciousness  of  the  importance  of 
her  friendship  to  his  interests,  yet  after  he  had  acquired 
sufficient  political  strength  to  stand  alone,  he  was  not  the 
less  devoted  or  less  assiduous  in  his  attentions  to  her."  * 

1  She  had  just  denied  the  truth  of  similar  reports  with  regard  to  Bernis, 
the  Prince  de  Beauvau,  brother  of  the  Marechale  de  Mirepoix,  and  Bridge, 
surnamed  "/t  bel  homme,"  one  of  Louis  XV. 's  equerries,  who  was  said  to 
have  been  the  marchioness's  lover  previous  to  her  conquest  of  the  King. 

"  The  Princesse  de  Rohan. 

2  Madame  du  Hausset  might  have  added  that  Choiseul  still  had  "some 
remains  of  liking  "  for  his  wife,  whom  Horace  Walpole,  in  a  letter  to 
Gray,  describes  as  "  the  gentlest,  amiable,  civil  little  creature  that  ever 
came  out  of  a  fairy  egg,"  and  Madame  du  DefFand  as  "an  angel  without 
a  weakness  or  a  fault." 

*  On  the  whole,  we  are  inclined  to  agree  with  Madame  du  Hausset. 
Madame  de  Pompadour  was,  as  she  herself  expressed  it,  '■^fro'ide  comme 
une  macreuse.^'      Ambition  was  the  one  passion   of  her  heart ;   there  was 
no  room  in  it  for  such  a  thing  as  love. 
*  366 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Choiseul  signed  as  his  initiation  fee  a  fresh  treaty  with 
Austria,  by  which  the  subsidies  to  be  paid  in  future  by 
France  were  considerably  reduced,  while  neither  party 
was  to  conclude  a  separate  peace.  It  was  henceforth 
impossible  for  France  to  come  to  terms,  even  with  Eng- 
land, without  the  consent  of  the  Empress-Queen.  The 
war  was  carried  on  vigorously.  The  Austrians  and 
Russians  pressed  Frederick  hard,  utterly  routed  him 
at  Kunersdorf — a  victory  which,  had  it  been  properly 
followed  up,  might  have  ended  the  struggle  as  far  as 
Prussia  was  concerned  —  took  Dresden,  and  compelled 
another  army  under  Finck  to  capitulate  at  Maxen. 

Far  otherwise  was  it  with  their  luckless  ally.  In  every 
quarter  of  the  globe  France  was  worsted.  Early  in  the 
year  1759  prospects  seemed  a  little  brighter.  Soubise, 
who  had  gained  two  unimportant  successes  in  the  pre- 
vious year  at  Sundershausen  and  Lutternberg,  for  the 
second  of  which,  although  the  credit  was  entirely  due 
to  Chevert,  his  second-in-command,  he  was  made  a 
Marechal  de  France,  took  Frankfort  by  means  of  a 
stratagem,  and  thereby  secured  a  most  advantageous 
base  for  operations  on  the  Lower  Rhine,  while  the  Due 
de  Broglie  defeated  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick  at  Bergen, 
and  then,  having  effected  a  junction  with  Contades,  who 
had  advanced  into  Hesse,  again  invaded  Hanover. 

But  soon  Fortune  ceased  to  smile.  In  August  Ferdi- 
nand's army,  now  reinforced  by  some  eight  thousand 
English  troops,  gained  a  great  victory  over  Contades  at 
Minden,  an  engagement  in  which  the  French  might  have 
been  annihilated,  but  for  the  extraordinary  conduct  of 
Lord  George  Sackville,  who  refused  to  allow  the  cavalry 
to  advance.  In  November  the  fleet  of  the  Comte  de 
Conflans,  another  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  henchmen, 

367 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

who  had  recently  been  made  Marechal  de  France,  "  ap- 
parently because  the  title  of  vice-admiral  was  not  worthy 
of  him,"  was  destroyed  by  Hawke  in  Quiberon  Bay. 
Clive  carried  all  before  him  in  India,  the  French  com- 
manders complaining  that,  instead  of  soldiers,  the  Govern- 
ment sent  them  "  la  plus  vile  canaille^''  Wolfe  defeated 
Montcalm  before  Quebec,  and  the  fate  of  Canada  was 
sealed.  Everywhere  there  was  nothing  but  ruin  and 
disaster. 

Meanwhile  the  financial  condition  of  the  country  had 
become  simply  appalling.  The  ordinary  revenues  of  the 
State  for  the  year  1759  were  estimated  at  two  hundred 
and  eighty-five  million  livres ;  the  expenditure  exceeded 
five  hundred  and  three  million,  leaving  a  deficit  of  two 
hundred  and  eighteen  million,  in  addition  to  which  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  were  due  to  the 
receivers  -  general  and  farmers -general.  Desperate  at- 
tempts had  been  made  to  raise  money  Dy  means  of  loans, 
lotteries,  and  life-rentes ;  but  the  credit  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  gone — people  would  not  subscribe. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  imagined  that  the 
ofHce  of  Comptroller-General  was  far  from  an  enviable 
one ;  in  less  than  a  year  it  had  had  three  different  occu- 
pants. In  February  1759  the  last  of  these,  Boulogne, 
resigned  in  despair,  and  the  King  determined  to  look  for 
"  a  man  of  genius."  Unfortunately,  men  of  genius  were 
not  very  plentiful  in  France  at  that  moment ;  but  even- 
tually what  was  believed  to  be  one  was  discovered  in  the 
person  of  a  certain  M.  de  Silhouette,  who  was  Secretary 
of  Orders  to  the  Due  d'Orleans  and  Commissary  to  the 
East  India  Company. 

Silhouette,  if  he  lacked  genius,  certainly  had  an  abund- 
ance of  ingenuity.     In  forty-eight  hours  he  had  enriched 

368 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

the  Treasury  to  the  extent  of  seventy-two  million  livres, 
by  the  simple  expedient  of  creating  a  loan  to  that  amount, 
confiscating  half  the  profits  of  the  farmers-general,  and 
distributing  the  money  among  the  subscribers.  This 
operation  was  received  with  great  applause  by  every  one, 
except  the  unfortunate  collectors  of  the  revenue  ;  but,  as 
they  were  the  object  of  universal  odium,  nobody  paid  the 
least  heed  to  their  protests.  Silhouette  was  hailed  as  a 
public  benefactor,  and  the  King  congratulated  himself  on 
having  found  a  heaven-born  financier. 

The  new  Comptroller's  next  step  was  to  begin  cutting 
down  pensions,  a  measure  which,  as  it  did  not  affect  the 
general  public,  was  also  much  applauded.  After  this  he 
determined  to  reform  the  King  himself,  and  entreated 
him  to  set  his  subjects  the  example  of  the  sacrifices  he  im- 
posed upon  them,  and  suggested,  by  way  of  a  beginning, 
that  he  should  surrender  the  annual  sum  set  apart  for  his 
card  playing ;  to  which  proposal  Louis  magnanimously 
consented,  Choiseul  having  secretly  ofi^ered  to  make  up 
the  deficiency  from  the  funds  of  the  Foreign  Office. 

But  as  fast  as  money  flowed  into  the  Treasury  it  went 
out  again,  for  what  could  the  foresight  and  economy 
of  even  the  ablest  Minister  eff^ect  in  the  face  of  the 
financial  chaos  which  permitted  the  expenses  of  one  de- 
partment to  be  thrown  upon  another,  and  allowed  the 
King  to  draw  millions  of  livres  every  year,  without 
rendering  any  proper  account  of  the  uses  to  which 
It   was    to    be   devoted.^     And  so  Silhouette   was   soon 

^  Louis,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  transferred  immense  sums  from  the 
Treasury  to  his  own  privy  purse.  Since  the  dismissal  of  Machault  in 
February  1757  he  had  taken  the  post  of  Keeper  of  the  Seals  for  himself, 
in  order  to  appropriate  the  perquisites.  He  had  no  sense  of  shame 
whatever. 

369  2  A 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

obliged  to  have  recourse  to  other  expedients  for  obtain- 
ing the  necessary  funds — taxes  on  domestic  servants,  on 
servants  in  livery,  on  horses  and  carnages,  on  shops,  on 
coffee-houses,  on  bachelors,^  and,  finally,  one  of  four 
sous  per  livre  on  articles  of  consumption. 

These  proposals  affected  the  pockets  of  all  classes, 
and  we  read  that  poor  Silhouette  is  applauded  no  longer, 
but  that  "  every  one  is  heaping  execrations  upon  him," 
and  that  he  has  become  the  subject  of  "  shocking  lam- 
poons." ^  The  Parliament  remonstrated  vehemently  ;  the 
King  sought  to  force  it  to  register  the  edicts  imposing 
these  taxes ;  while  Silhouette,  seeing  his  plans  failing, 
suggested  the  most  fantastic  schemes,  one  of  which  was 
that  Louis  should  send  the  royal  plate  to  the  Mint,  and 
call  upon  his  loyal  subjects  to  d^  likewise. 

The  King  consented,  and  the  loyal  subjects  hastened 
to  follow  his  example.  We  read  that  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  Marechal  Belle-Isle,  Choiseul,  and  other 
Ministers  have  sent  their  plate  ;  that  the  Due  d'Orleans 
has  sent  his  "in  a. wagon";  that  the  Dauphiness  has 
volunteered  with  a  silver  toilet-table,  "  brand  new  and  of 
exquisite  costly  pattern,"  but  that  the  King  would  not 
accept  it ;  that  certain  mean  and  unpatriotic  persons 
were  undecided  whether  to  send  their  plate  or  to  hide 
it,  but  that  public  opinion  was  so  strong  that  no  one 
dared  to  use  anything  but  pewter.^  Even  the  religious 
communities  were  compelled  to  go  with  the  stream. 
The  clergy  of  Notre-Dame  sent  a  deputation  to  the 
King  to  inquire  how  much  of  their  plate  they  should 
contribute,    doubtless   hoping   that   the   monarch   would 

1  Silhouette  proposed  that  unmarried  men  should  pay  a  triple  capitation 
tax. 

2  Journal  de  Barbier,  vii.  202.  ^   JUd,^  y\\.  102 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

refuse  to  avail  himself  of  their  loyalty.  Their  disgust 
may  be  imagined  when  Louis  curtly  replied,  "  Every- 
thing except  the  sacred  vessels."  In  order  to  incite  a 
spirit  of  emulation,  it  was  resolved  that  a  list  of  the 
contributors  should  be  printed ;  that  it  should  be  in- 
serted in  the  gazettes,  and  read  at  Versailles.  This 
was  most  effective,  and  we  are  told  that  "even  the 
courtesans  were  desirous  of  figuring  upon  this  patriotic 
catalogue."  ^  Receipts  were  given  at  the  Mint  for  all 
the  plate  sent  in,  and  promises  to  refund  its  value  to 
the  owners  at  the  rate  of  seven  livres  per  ounce  when 
the  ship  of  State  should  have  weathered  the  storm ;  but 
whether  these  promises  were  ever  redeemed  appears  very 
doubtful. 

However,  the  Parisians  were  not  long  in  avenging 
the  loss  of  their  silver.  At  the  same  time  that  Silhouette 
had  suggested  the  melting-pot  scheme,  he  had  proposed 
another  and  far  more  important  one,  nothing  less  than 
that,  for  the  duration  of  the  war,  the  State  should 
suspend  all  payments,  except  that  of  the  rentes — in  a 
word,  temporary  bankruptcy.  This  announcement  was 
greeted  with  a  storm  of  indignation.  The  unfortunate 
Minister  was  compared  to  the  famous  robbers  Cartouche 
and  Mandrin,  the  latter  of  whom  had  recently  ex- 
piated his  crimes  on  the  wheel ;  while  those  who  took 
his  vagaries  less  seriously  covered  him  with  ridicule. 
"  The  very  tailors  and  milliners  took  him  up — trousers 
without  pockets,  dresses  without  flounce  or  fold,  which 
they  called  a  la  Silhouette ; — and  to  this  day  in  France, 
and  other  Continental  Countries,  the  old-fashioned 
Shadow-Profile  (mere  outline,  and  vacant  black)  is  prac- 
tically called  a  silhouette.     So  that  the  very  Dictionaries 

^    Vie pr'tvee  de  Louis  XV.,  iii.  179. 
371. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

have  him ;  and  like  bad  Count  Reinhart  or  Reynard,  of 
earlier  date,  he  has  become  a  Noun  Appellative,  and  is 
immortalised  in  that  way."  ^  At  length,  the  popular 
outcry  became  so  loud  that  Louis  saw  the  necessity 
of  abandoning  both  the  proposal  and  the  Minister, 
and  on  November  22  the  Comptroller-General  was 
dismissed. 

Although  Silhouette's  tenure  of  office  did  not  benefit 
the  Treasury  very  much,  it  seems  to  have  been  not 
altogether  unprofitable  to  himself.  "  Instead  of  retir- 
ing to  the  country  to  bury  his  shame  there,"  writes  a 
disgusted  contemporary,  "  he  rented  a  splendid  house 
in  the  most  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town.  Mag- 
nificent equipages,  rich  liveries,  and  a  great  number  of 
servants  testified  to  a  degree  of  opulence  most  offensive 
to  other  people.  It  appeared  as  if  he  had  raised  him- 
self upon  the  ruins  of  his  fellow-citizens ;  he  was  served 
on  plate  at  a  time  when  the  greatest  noblemen  had 
only  earthenware  or  china.^ 

Silhouette  was  succeeded  by  Bertin,  the  Lieutenant 
of  Police,  for  Madame  de  Pompadour's  faithful  hench- 
man, Berryer,  "  who  had  ofttimes  saved  the  marchioness 
from  poison  and  the  assassin's  knife,"  had  been  pro- 
moted to  the  Ministry  of  Marine.  Bertin  succeeded  in 
inducing  the  Parliament  to  register  some  fresh  taxes — 
one  of  a  sou  the  livre  on  articles  of  consumption,  and  a 
double  capitation  tax — by  promising  that  they  should 
only  remain  in  force  for  two  years,  and  also  managed 
to  float  a  fresh  loan  of  fifty  million,  "  which  enabled  the 
Government  to  vegetate  from  day  to  day." 

The  miserable  war  began  anew  in  the  spring.  Frederick, 

1  Carlyle's  "  Frederick  the  Great,"  viii.  248. 
^   Vte pr'ivee  de  Louis  XV. ^  iii.  179. 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

now  reduced  to  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  men, 
the  majority  of  them  raw  recruits,  for  the  splendid, 
well-disciplined  troops  of  1756  existed  no  longer,  had 
to  contend  with  more  than  double  that  number  of 
Austrians,  Russians,  and  Imperialists ;  while  Ferdinand 
of  Brunswick,  with  only  70,000  men,  was  confronted 
by  120,000  Frenchmen.  Frederick,  however,  remained 
unconquered,  though  Berlin  was  a  second  time  pillaged 
by  the  enemy,  and  in  November  gained  a  decisive  victory 
over  the  Austrians  at  Torgau. 

The  French  armies  somewhat  retrieved  their  char- 
acter during  this  campaign,  and  Broglie,  who  had  super- 
seded Contades  after  Minden,  won  a  battle  at  Corbach, 
while  the  Marquis  de  Castries,  one  of  his  lieutenants, 
repulsed  a  night  attack  made  upon  him  by  Ferdinand 
at  Kloster-Kampen.  Te  Deums  were  sung  in  Paris,  and 
Broglie  became  a  popular  hero. 

Unfortunately,  Madame  de  Pompadour  could  not  let 
well  alone.  She  was  resolved  that  the  honour  of  con- 
quering Hanover  should  belong  to  Soubise,  and  in  spite 
of  Choiseul's  remonstrances,  the  incapable  prince  was 
sent  in  the  following  spring  to  the  Lower  Rhine  to 
co-operate  with  Broglie  in  Hesse,  with  the  chief  com- 
mand in  the  event  of  a  junction.  Ferdinand  imme- 
diately marched  against  Soubise,  who,  greatly  alarmed, 
hastened  to  unite  his  forces  with  those  of  Broglie.  The 
latter  was  anything  but  pleased  at  the  arrival  of  his 
colleague,  of  whom  he  was  violently  jealous,  but  agreed 
that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  surround  Ferdinand, 
who  was  in  camp  at  Vellinghausen  on  the  banks  of  the 
Lippe,  and  crush  him  by  weight  of  numbers.  Broglie's 
jealousy,  however,  led  him  to  attack  some  hours  earlier 
than  had  been  arranged,  in  the  hope  of  monopolising  all 

373 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

the  glory  of  the  anticipated  victory ;  and  when,  finding 
the  task  very  much  more  difficult  than  he  had  bargained 
for,  he  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  send  to  Soubise 
for  assistance,  the  latter,  who  could  not  understand  why 
the  duke  had  begun  the  action  before  the  time  agreed 
upon,  contented  himself  with  a  feeble  cannonade  of  an 
outlying  redoubt  on  the  enemy's  right  flank.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  Broglie  was  overpowered  and  driven 
back  in  confusion  with  heavy  loss. 

Each  general  laid  the  blame  upon  the  other,  but 
Madame  de  Pompadour  decided  the  matter  by  causing 
Broglie  to  be  recalled  and  banished  to  his  estates  by  a 
lettre  de  cachet.  This  act  of  injustice  was  not  allowed  to 
pass  unchallenged.  Voltaire's  Tancrede  was  then  being 
performed  at  the  Th6atre-Fran9ais,  and  when  the  cele- 
brated actress  Mademoiselle  Clairon,  in  the  part  of 
Amena"fde,  came  to  the  lines,  "It  is  a  hero's  lot  to  be 
persecuted.  A  hero  to  whom  justice  is  refused  appeals 
to  all  hearts,"  she  repeated  them  with  such  impressive- 
ness  that  their  application  was  at  once  perceived,  and 
"  the  name  of  Broglie  was  on  every  lip." 

Madame  de  Pompadour  now  fell  back  upon  d'Estrees, 
whom  she  had  formerly  caused  to  be  superseded,  and  he 
departed  for  Germany  amid  a  shower  of  lampoons,  which 
represented  that  he  was  going  to  gather  laurels  for 
Soubise  to  wear.  The  two  generals  gained  a  victory  at 
Johannisberg,  but  they  were  driven  out  of  Hesse  and 
across  the  Weser,  and  Ferdinand  was  pressing  them  hard 
when  the  preliminaries  of  peace  came  to  stem  the  tide  of 
French  disasters. 

As  far  back  as  the  autumn  of  1759  the  English 
Government  had  joined  Frederick  in  m.aking  proposals 
for   peace,  but  though  Choiseul  was    not  unwilling    to 

374 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

come  to  a  separate  agreement  with  England  and  retire 
from  the  war,  Maria  Theresa  would  not  hear  of  it,  un- 
less England  consented  to  withdraw  her  support  from 
Frederick.  This,  of  course,  Pitt  refused  to  do,  so 
nothing  came  of  the  negotiations.  In  the  spring  of 
1761,  however,  they  were  resumed  by  Choiseul,  seconded 
this  time  by  Austria  and  Russia.  The  English  Govern- 
ment sent  an  envoy  to  Paris,  and  the  French  Government 
an  envoy  to  London,  to  discuss  a  separate  arrangement, 
which,  it  was  hoped,  might  lead  to  a  general  pacification  ; 
but  Pitt  seemed  determined  on  the  humbling  of  France, 
and  though  these  negotiations  were  protracted  for  several 
weeks,  they  proved  as  fruitless  as  the  last.  It  is,  indeed, 
open  to  question  whether  Choiseul  was  really  sincere  in 
his  desire  for  peace  at  this  moment,  aware  as  he  was  that 
it  could  not  fail  to  be  a  humiliating  one.  It  would  appear 
more  probable  that  it  was  merely  a  ruse  to  gain  time,  in 
order  to  conclude  a  negotiation  which  he  had  long  medi- 
tated and  from  which  he  hoped  much.  This  was  to  draw 
the  King  of  Spain,  and  with  him  the  other  Bourbon 
sovereigns,  into  the  war.-^ 

He  had  certainly  chosen  his  time  well.  The  relations 
between  England  and  Spain  had  for  some  years  past  been 
very  strained.  Disputes  had  arisen  on  several  points, 
such  as  the  violation  of  Spain's  neutrality  by  English 
cruisers,  the  rights  of  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfound- 
land, the  right  to  cut  logwood  and  maintain  settlements 
in  Honduras,  while  the  continued  aggrandisement  of 
Great  Britain  was  regarded  as  a  serious  menace  to  the 

1  Vie  pr'ivee  de  Louis  XF".,  iv.  8.  The  writer  says  that  the  French 
envoy,  Bussy-Ragotin,  was  nothing  but  a  spy,  sent  to  ascertain  the 
feeling  of  the  new  Court  (George  II.  had  died  the  previous  year)  on  the 
question  of  the  war,  and  that  he  intrigued  with  the  Tories  against  Pitt. 

375 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Spanish  colonies.  Moreover,  Don  Carlos  of  Naples, 
who  had  succeeded  his  half-brother,  the  peace-loving 
Ferdinand  VI.,  in  1759,  was  inspired  by  deadly  hatred  of 
England.  Twenty  years  before,  he  had  joined  the  coali- 
tion against  Maria  Theresa,  upon  which  an  English  fleet, 
under  Commodore  Martin,  had  sailed  into  the  Bay  of 
Naples,  dropped  anchor  within  gunshot  of  the  palace, 
and  given  his  Sicilian  Majesty  one  hour  and  no  longer  to 
choose  between  recalling  his  troops  and  signing  a  treaty 
of  neutrality,  and  a  bombardment.  Carlos  was,  of  course, 
compelled  to  yield,  but  he  never  forgot  the  humiliation 
to  which  he  had  been  subjected,  and  thirsted  for  revenge. 

And  so  it  happened  that  when  Choiseul  suggested  the 
advantage  of  a  treaty,  by  which  the  Kings  of  France  and 
Spain  should  each  recognise  the  enemies  of  the  other  as 
his  own,  and  guarantee  each  other's  possession  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  offered  to  restore  Minorca  to  Spain  in 
return  for  her  assistance,^  the  Court  of  Madrid  lent  a 
willing  ear  to  his  proposals,  and  on  August  15,  1761, 
the  celebrated  Family  Compact  was  signed.  By  a  secret 
clause,  the  King  of  Spain  bound  himself  to  declare  war 
against  England  on  the  following  ist  of  May,  if  she  had 
not  concluded  peace  with  France  before  that  date. 

This  alliance  was  of  little  direct  advantage  to  France, 
for,  even  with  the  help  of  Spain,  she  was  powerless  to 
stem  the  tide  of  English  conquests,  and  Carlos  paid 
dearly  for  his  interference  by  the  loss  of  Havanna  and 

1  Choiseul  also  offered  another  concession,  which,  though  it  may  seem 
trifling  to  us,  was  regarded  as  of  the  highest  importance  by  the  Court  of 
Madrid — the  renunciation  of  precedence.  That  is  to  say,  that  in  courts 
foreign  to  the  House  of  Bourbon,  whereas  hitherto  the  French  Ambas- 
sador had  always  taken  the  precedence  over  the  representative  of  Spain, 
priority  of  credentials  was  in  future  to  decide  the  matter. 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

Manilla  ;  but  indirectly  it  proved  her  salvation,  since  it 
precipitated  the  fall  of  her  implacable  enemy,  Pitt,  who, 
obtaining  early  information  of  the  hostile  intentions  of 
Spain,  proposed,  like  Frederick  in  1756,  to  strike  first. 
Finding  himself  unsupported  in  the  Cabinet,  where  the 
machinations  of  "thrice-paltry"  Bute  had  undermined 
his  influence,  he  tendered  his  resignation,  which  was 
accepted  by  the  young  King. 

"  Pitt's  dismissal,"  said  Diderot,  on  hearing  of  the  fall 
of  the  Great  Commoner,  "  is  a  greater  gain  to  us  than 
the  winning  of  two  battles."  And  so  it  proved.  Pitt 
had  been  as  firmly  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  reducing 
France  to  impotence  as  Cato  had  been  with  regard  to 
Carthage.  Bute,  who  now  assumed  the  direction  of 
affairs,  and  found  himself,  just  as  his  predecessor  had 
foreseen,  compelled  almost  immediately  to  declare  war 
against  Spain,  thought  only  of  bringing  hostilities  to  a 
close,  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  devote  himself 
to  the  task  of  breaking  up  the  Whig  oligarchy  and  ex- 
tending the  royal  prerogative.  And  thus  the  extraordi- 
nary spectacle  was  presented  of  the  first  Minister  of  a 
triumphant  power  suing  for  peace  as  eagerly  as  if  his 
country  was  on  the  verge  of  ruin. 

Choiseul  was,  of  course,  only  too  willing  to  treat  on 
anything  like  reasonable  terms,  and  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour this  time  offered  no  resistance.  Even  she  was 
compelled  to  admit  that  the  game  was  up.  The 
"  Alliance  of  the  Three  Petticoats  "  (Elizabeth  of  Russia, 
Maria  Theresa,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour),  as  Frederick 
called  the  coalition,  existed  no  longer.  The  Czarina 
Elizabeth  had  died  in  January  1762,  and  though  her 
successor,  the  eccentric  Peter  III.,  who  had  actually 
ordered   the   Russian   forces  which  had   been   employed 

377 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

against  Prussia  to  turn  their  arms  against  their  former 
allies,  had  speedily  lost  both  his  throne  and  his  life,  the 
present  sovereign,  his  widow  Catharine,  had  firmly  de- 
clined Maria  Theresa's  overtures  for  a  renewal  of  the 
alliance  made  by  Elizabeth.  The  consequence  was  that 
Austria  was  now  left  to  face  Prussia  with  no  other 
support  than  what  she  could  obtain  from  the  half- 
hearted German  Diet  and  the  Saxons,  and  all  she  could 
hope  for  was  to  hold  her  ground. 

But  in  any  case  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 
continue  the  war  another  six  months,  for  matters  were  at 
the  last  extremity  ;  the  financial  resources  of  the  country 
were  absolutely  exhausted.  Accordingly,  on  November  3, 
the  preliminaries  of  peace  between  France,  Spain,  and 
England  were  signed  at  Fontainebleau,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 10  in  the  following  year  converted  into  the  Peace 
of  Paris.  The  other  belligerents  had  come  to  terms 
five  days  earlier  at  Hubertsburg,  a  castle  belonging  to 
Augustus  of  Saxony,  and  Frederick  had  been  once 
more  confirmed  in  his  possession  of  Silesia. 

The  sacrlfift5S  imposed  upon  France  by  the  Treaty  of 
Paris  were,  of  course,  not  nearly  so  heavy  as  would  have 
been  the  case  had  Pitt  remained  in  office  ;  indeed,  it  is 
open  to  question  whether  Pitt  would  have  consented  to 
make  peace  at  all  until  the  French  navy  had  been  practi- 
cally annihilated.  But,  even  as  things  were,  they  were 
sufficiently  humiliating  for  a  proud  nation.  She  sur- 
rendered Canada  and  Cape  Breton,  gave  up  all  claims  on 
Nova  Scotia,  allowed  England  to  retain  Grenada  and  the 
"  Neutral  Islands "  in  the  West  Indies,  ceded  Senegal, 
restored  Minorca,  and  recovered  her  possessions  in  India 
only  by  pledging  herself  to  maintain  no  troops  or  forti- 
fications there.      Thus  ended  the  famous  Seven  Years' 

378 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

War,  which,  besides  annihilating  her  influence  in  North 
America  and  India,  cost  France  two  hundred  thousand 
men  and  enormous  sums  of  money,  lowered  her  prestige 
in  Europe,  crippled  her  finances  for  years  to  come,-^  and 
dealt  a  death-blow  at  the  monarchy,  which,  by  arrogating 
to  itself  absolute  authority,  had  incurred  and  accepted 
undivided  responsibility. 

As  if  this  miserable  war  had  been  a  succession  of  glorious 
victories,  instead  of  crushing  reverses,  it  was  decided,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  to  commemorate 
it  by  the  erection  of  a  colossal  equestrian  statue  of 
Louis  XV,  in  what  is  now  the  Place  de  la  Concorde. 
This  statue,  which  was  the  work  of  Bouchardon,  was 
placed  on  a  pedestal  adorned  at  the  four  corners  by 
allegorical  figures  representing  Strength,  Wisdom,  Justice, 
and  Peace,  executed  by  Pigalle,  and  was  unveiled  with 
great  ceremony  on  June  20,  1763.  The  Gazette  de 
France  for  the  27th  of  that  month  announced  that  the 
unveiling  was  received  "  with  enthusiastic  acclamations 
of  joy  on  the  part  of  an  innumerable  company."  ^  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  people  looked  on  in  dead  silence, 
and  showed  what  they  thought  of  the  matter  by  the 
following  stinging  couplet,  which  was  found  affixed  to 
the  statue  the  next  morning  : — 

"  Grotesque  monument,  infame  piedestal, 
Les  Vertus  sont  a  pied  et  le  Vice  a  cheval." 


^  The  annual  revenue  had  been  forestalled  to  the  amount  of  nearly  eighty 
million  livres.  The  outside  expenses  of  the  war  had  not  been  acquitted, 
and  from  1762-69  France  was  forced  to  pay  between  thirty-three  and 
thirty-four  million  of  arrears  in  respect  of  the  subsidies  due  to  Austria. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  national  debt  had  grown  to  an  appalling  extent, 
and  a  large  body  of  life-rentes  and  tontines  had  been  created. 

2  Quoted  in  Journal  de  Barbicr,  viii.  8l. 

379 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

And  the  painter  La  Tour,  coming  to  admire  the  alle- 
gorical figures  of  Pigalle,  heard  the  women  of  the  lower 
class  crying  out  to  one  another,  as  they  pointed  derisively 
at  the  "Virtues"  :  "Do  you  see  how  the  King  has  made 
them  put  his  wantons  by  the  side  of  his  procuress  ? 
Look,  there  is  Madame  de  Mailly,  and  there's  Madame 
de  Vintimille,  and  the  one  behind  her  is  Madame  de 
Chdteauroux,  and  next  her  is  Madame  de  Pompadour  !  "  ^ 

To  the  intense  relief  of  the  Government,  the  disastrous 
Treaty  of  Paris  aroused  comparatively  little  comment  in 
the  capital,  the  reason  being  that  the  popular  interest 
was  at  that  moment  absorbed  in  another  conflict — that 
between  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  supported  by  the  whole 
influence  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  the  Jesuits. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Jesuits, 
not  only  in  France  but  all  over  the  world,  had  derogated 
very  far  from  the  lofty  ideals  of  Loyola.  They  had 
abandoned  the  system  of  free  education,  which  had 
brought  them  so  much  influence  and  honour ;  they 
had  attached  themselves  to  Courts,  thereby  losing  their 
hold  over  the  middle  and  lower  classes ;  they  had  en- 
deavoured to  monopolise  ecclesiastical  patronage  and 
aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  secular  clergy ;  they  had 
utilised  their  position  as  missionaries  in  the  colonies  to 
acquire  political  power,  and,  in  some  instances,  as  in 
Paraguay,  where,  in  1750,  they  had  stirred  up  a  rebellion 
against  the  Portuguese  Government,  practically  ruled 
them.  To  crown  all,  they  had,  in  direct  violation  of 
the  precepts  of  their  founder,  their  own  Constitutions, 
and  the  prohibition  of  several  Popes,  embarked  in  com- 

1   Memoires  du  Due  de  Richelieu,  viii.  286;   Campardon's  Madame  de 
Pompadour  et  hi  cour  de  Louis  XV.,  p.  153. 

380 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

merce,  and  had  developed  into  a  vast  trading  corpora- 
tion, with  houses  scattered  all  over  the  world.  The 
consequence  was  that  they  had  come  to  be  regarded 
with  jealousy  and  distrust,  not  only  by  the  bulk  of 
the  population,  but  also  by  the  Governments  of  even 
the  most  conservative  States,  and  stood,  though  they 
seemed  more  powerful  than  they  had  ever  been,  upon 
the  verge  of  an  abyss,  into  which  it  needed  but  a  thrust 
to  precipitate  them. 

It  was  from  Portugal,  a  country  where  they  had  long 
exercised  the  most  absolute  dominion,  that  the  thrust 
came.  There  the  able  Minister,  Carvalho  (afterwards 
Marquis  de  Pombal),  who  had  obtained  great  influence 
over  the  weak  Joseph  I.,  had  determined  on  their  de- 
struction. He  was  firmly  convinced,  though  as  usual 
direct  evidence  was  lacking,  that  they  had  been  the 
originators  of  the  rebellion  in  Paraguay  already  referred 
to,  which  had  lasted  six  years  and  put  the  Government 
to  enormous  expense ;  and  he  was,  moreover,  exasperated 
by  the  manner  in  which  they  had  fomented  opposition  to 
his  domestic  reforms.  Accordingly,  in  1757  he  issued 
decrees  against  them,  forbidding  them  to  approach  the 
Court  without  leave,  prohibiting  them  from  trading, 
preaching,  and  the  confessional.  Finally,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1759,  he  charged  the  whole  Society 
with  complicity  in  an  attempt  upon  the  King's  life, 
which  had  been  made  in  the  previous  September — and 
for  which  two  unfortunate  noblemen,  the  Marquis  de 
Tavora  and  the  Duke  d'Aveiros,  both  of  whose  wives 
had  yielded  to  the  licentious  monarch's  overtures,  had 
been  executed — confiscated  all  their  property,  and  shipped 
them  to  Civita  Vecchia,  where  they  were  left  to  be  main- 
tained at  the  Pope's  expense. 

381 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

Such  a  proceeding  on  the  part  of  a  small  and  super- 
stitious State  in  which  the  Jesuits  had  been  so  long 
dominant  naturally  had  a  great  effect  upon  France, 
where  the  Order  had  never  recovered  from  the  injury- 
it  had  received  in  its  struggle  with  Port-Royal.  Its 
arrogance,  which  had  been  pardoned  so  long  as  it  was 
associated  with  merit  and  learning,  inspired  nothing  but 
hatred  and  contempt  when  coupled  with  mediocrity ; 
and  these  feelings  were  accentuated  by  the  prominent  part 
which  it  had  taken  in  the  conflict  between  the  clergy 
and  the  Parliament,  its  perpetual  interference  with  the 
relations  of  domestic  life,  and  the  continuous  attacks  of 
Voltaire  and  the  philosophers.  An  act  as  impolitic  as 
it  was  discreditable  gave  it  its  death-blow. 

One  of  the  most  prosperous  of  the  Society's  com- 
mercial establishments  was  situated  in  Martinique,  where 
Father  La  Vallette,  the  head  of  the  mission  there, 
carried  on  an  exceedingly  prosperous  business  under  the 
guidance  of  one  Isaac,  a  Jew !  He  had  correspondents 
in  all  the  principal  towns  in  Europe,  and  had  gradually 
acquired  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  island,  inso- 
much that  the  inhabitants  complained  to  the  French 
Government,  who  recommended  that  the  enterprising 
Father  should  be  transferred  to  another  sphere  of  use- 
fulness. His  superiors,  however,  obtained  permission 
for  him  to  remain  at  his  post,  promising  that  he  should 
in  future  confine  himself  to  the  care  of  souls  instead  of 
sugar.  They  appointed  him  vicar-general  and  apostolic- 
prefect,  under  which  high-sounding  titles  he  continued 
to  trade  as  merrily  as  ever.  But,  alas !  evil  days  were 
in  store.  In  1755  Father  La  Vallette  had  drawn  bills 
of  exchange  for  a  very  large  amount  upon  his  principal 
correspondents,  Leonci  and  Gouffre,  a  great  commercial 

382 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

house  at  Marseilles.  The  merchandise  which  he  was 
shipping  to  France  to  cover  his  bills  was  seized  by  the 
English.-^  Leonci  and  Gouffre  applied  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  quondam  confessor,  Father  Sacy,  the  at- 
torney-general of  the  missions  of  France,  for  reimburse- 
ment. Sacy  referred  them  to  his  superiors ;  but  the 
generalship  of  the  Society  was  then  vacant,  and  nothing 
could  be  done  till  it  was  filled.  Before  that  event  took 
place,  the  merchants  had  been  compelled  to  suspend 
payment. 

Ricci,  the  new  General  of  the  Jesuits,  had  fully  in- 
tended to  settle  the  claims  ^  and  continue  the  commerce ; 
but  finding  that  it  was  too  late  to  stop  the  scandal,  he 
foolishly  decided  to  repudiate  La  Vallette,  and  instructed 
Sacy,  whom  the  assignee  of  the  bankrupts  had  associated 
with  La  Vallette  in  an  action  he  was  bringing  against 
the  latter  before  the  courts  at  Marseilles,  to  deny  that 
the  holy  man  at  Martinique  had  had  any  authority  to 
pledge  the  credit  of  the  Society. 

In  vain  did  the  unfortunate  Leonci  and  his  partner 
write  the  most  affecting  letters  to  Sacy.  The  Father 
replied  that  he  had  "  nothing  but  tears  and  prayers  " 
to  give  them ;    and    when    the    case    came   into   court, 

1  Another  misfortune  befell  La  Vallette  about  this  time.  He  had 
announced  his  intention  of  sending  to  France  the  relics  of  holy  per- 
sonages of  his  Order  who  had  suffered  martyrdom  at  the  hands  of  the 
natives.  These  pretended  relics  were  ingots  of  gold.  When  the  cases 
arrived  at  the  Jesuit  convent  at  Bordeaux,  they  were  found  to  contain, 
instead  of  ingots,  nothing  but  the  bones  of  animals ;  they  had  been  opened 
and  rifled  by  the  captain  of  the  ship.  The  Jesuits  could  not  enter  a  com- 
plaint, as  the  bill  of  lading  had  specified  nothing  but  bones. 

^  D'Angerville  says  that  Ricci  actually  sent  a  courier  to  Marseilles  to 
inform  the  merchants  that  La  Vallette's  obligations  would  be  met.  He 
arrived  three  days  too  late. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

solemnly  swore  that  La  Vallette  had  been  trading 
on  his  own  account  and  entirely  without  the  sanction 
of  the  Society. 

The  result  was  that  La  Vallette,  who  did  not  appear, 
was  condemned  to  pay  what  was  due ;  while  the  decision 
with  regard  to  Sacy  was  postponed  to  give  his  superiors 
time  for  reflection.  Ricci,  however,  persisted  in  his 
refusal  to  acknowledge  the  obligation ;  whereupon,  in 
May  1760,  the  Leoncis  brought  an  action  against  the 
whole  body  of  the  Jesuits  in  France  as  jointly  responsible, 
and  won  the  case. 

The  reaction  of  this  disgraceful  affair  was  felt  all  over 
Europe.  The  counting-house  of  the  Jesuits  at  Genoa 
was  closed  by  order  of  the  Genoese  Government ;  Venice 
forbade  the  Society  in  its  territories  to  receive  novices ; 
and  in  France  the  Lieutenant  of  Police  interdicted  to 
them  the  sale  of  drugs,  which  compelled  them  to  abandon 
the  immense  pharmacy  which  they  had  at  Lyons. 

Ricci  now  resolved  on  an  appeal  to  a  superior  court. 
He  had  the  alternative  of  carrying  his  case  before  the 
Great  Council,  an  exceptional  tribunal,  which  was  friendly 
to  the  Church  and  would  doubtless  have  endeavoured  to 
induce  him  to  settle  the  matter  amicably,  or  to  the 
Grand  Chamber  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  a  body 
mainly  composed  of  bitter  Jansenists.  Every  one,  of 
course,  expected  that  he  would  choose  the  former ;  to 
universal  astonishment,  he  announced  his  intention  of 
appealing  to  the  latter. 

One  Father  Frey,  a  Paris  Jesuit,  "  who  passed  for  an 
acute  politician,"  seems  to  have  been  responsible  for  this 
suicidal  decision.  He  had  assured  his  superiors  that 
success  was  certain  before  either  tribunal,  but  that  it 
would  be  the  more  glorious  before  the  one  which  was 

384 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

popularly  supposed  to  be  hostile  to  them,  but  whose 
hostility  he  declared  was  grossly  exaggerated  ;  and  they 
had  taken  his  advice.  "  The  Jesuits,"  says  Bernis,  "  were 
the  dupes  of  their  own  cunning."  -^ 

The  extraordinary  confidence  which  Father  Frey  had 
professed  in  the  result  of  the  approaching  appeal  would 
seem  to  have  been  based  on  a  plot  which  he  and  other 
members  of  his  Order  had  concerted  with  the  Due  de 
la  Vauguyon,  a  malignant  fanatic  and  a  bitter  enemy 
of  Choiseul,  to  overthrow  that  Minister  and  make  the 
party  of  the  Dauphin  supreme.  In  this  conspiracy  the 
prince  himself  was  an  innocent  accomplice.  La  Vauguyon 
and  his  friends  had  informed  him  that  Choiseul  had 
lately  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Parliament  of 
Paris,  by  which  the  Society  was  to  be  suppressed  and 
certain  restrictions  imposed  on  the  royal  power,  and  in 
proof  of  this  had  produced  a  document,  purporting  to 
be  written  by  a  counsellor  of  the  Parliament,  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  work  of  a  Jesuit,  and  begged  him  to 
lay  it  before  the  King.  The  Dauphin,  who  was  a  high- 
minded  if  bigoted  young  man,  had  hitherto  kept  sternly 
aloof  from  all  Court  intrigues  ;  but  he  was  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  Society  and  much  attached  to  his  father, 
in  spite  of  the  coolness  with  which  the  latter  treated  him, 
and,  never  suspecting  for  a  single  moment  that  the  docu- 
ment was  a  forgery,  was  highly  indignant,  and  promised 
to  do  as  they  suggested. 

This  clumsy  plot  failed  as  it  deserved ;  indeed,  the 
intelligence  of  the  Jesuits  at  this  period  appears  to  have, 
been  about  on  a  par  with  their  morals.  The  King,  in- 
stead of  at  once  dismissing  Choiseul,  as  the  conspirators 
fondly   imagined   he   would   do,   sent  for  the   Minister, 

1   Memoir es  et  Leftres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  ii.  1 03. 

385  2  B 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

handed  him  the  incriminating  paper,  and  demanded  an  ex- 
planation. Choiseul,  of  course,  had  no  difficulty  whatever 
in  clearing  himself,  and  the  poor  Dauphin  was  severely 
reprimanded  by  his  father  ;  while  his  intended  victim  de- 
manded an  audience,  and  informed  him  that,  "  although 
he  (Choiseul)  might  one  day  have  the  misfortune  to 
become  his  subject,  he  might  rest  assured  that  he  would 
never  consent  to  become  his  servant."  ^  When  the 
prince  complained  to  Louis  of  the  Minister's  insolence, 
the  latter  merely  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  intimated 
that  his  son  had  no  right  to  expect  anything  else. 

Now  up  to  this  time  it  would  not  appear  that 
Choiseul  had  entertained  any  hostile  intentions  towards 
the  Jesuits,  though  he  had  long  regarded  them  with 
disfavour,  nor  is  it  at  all  probable  that,  even  after 
the  provocation  he  had  received,  he  would  have  taken 
any  steps  against  them  on  his  own  initiative,  for  he 
was  far  from  being  of  a  vindictive  nature.  But  Madame 
de  Pompadour  no  sooner  heard  of  what  had  taken 
place  than  she  recognised  that  her  hour  of  vengeance 
had  arrived.  She  had  not  forgotten  his  lordship  of 
Mirepoix's  ill-advised  endeavour  to  nip  her  ambitions 
in  the  bud,  or  the  outspoken  sermons  of  Father  Griffet, 
or  the  inconvenient  scruples  of  Father  Sacy,  or  the 
intrigues  of  Father  Desmarets.  She  was  resolved  that 
these  meddlesome  priests  should  pay  dearly  for  their 
rash  attempts  to  thwart  her  will.  The  axe  was  already 
laid  to  the  foot  of  the  tree ;  it  should  not  be  her  fault 
if  it  was  not  driven  home.  Choiseul  was  under  too 
great  obligations  to  the  favourite  to  refuse  to  second 
her  revengeful  schemes,  and,  after  some  demur,  promised 
her  his  co-operation. 

1  Prince  Emmanuel  de  Broglie's  Le  F'tls  de  Louts  XV.,  p.  281. 

386 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

Meanwhile  the  La  Vallette  affair  had  reached  the 
Parliament  of  Paris.  Again  did  the  Jesuits  deny  the 
joint  responsibility  imputed  to  them  and  maintain  that 
each  of  their  houses  or  colleges  was  administered 
separately  in  regard  to  temporal  matters.  The  Parlia- 
ment ordered  them  to  produce  their  Constitutions,  that 
it  might  be  seen  how  far  these  bore  out  their  statements ; 
and  the  Constitutions,  a  document  hitherto  almost  un- 
known, ^  were  accordingly  produced.  After  examining 
the  clauses  relating  to  the  question  at  issue,  the  court 
gave  judgment  against  the  Society  for  the  whole  amount 
claimed  and  an  additional  fifty  thousand  livres  by  way 
of  damages. 

But  the  matter  did  not  end  there.  Once  having  got 
their  enemies  into  their  power,  the  Parliament  was  by 
no  means  disposed  to  allow  them  to  escape.  It  appointed 
a  commission  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  Constitu- 
tions, and  the  provincial  parliaments  followed  suit.  On 
July  8,  the  Ahh6  Terrai,  a  clerical  counsellor  and  a 
rancorous  opponent  of  the  Order,  proposed  that  a 
second  commission  should  be  appointed  to  report  upon 
"  the  moral  and  political  doctrines  of  the  so-called 
priests  and  scholars  of  the  Society  of  Jesus "  ;  and  his 
motion  was  agreed  to.  A  month  later  the  Parliament 
ordered  a  great  number  of  Jesuit  works  published  during 
the  last  two  centuries,  including  an  ingenious  "  Apology 
for  the  Massacre  of  Saint-Bartholemew,"  to  be  publicly 
Durned  by  the  common  hangman,  "  as  teaching  a  mur- 
ierous  and  abominable  doctrine  against  the  safety  of 
:he  lives  of  citizens  and  even  of  sovereigns  "  ;  and,  the 
:ommission,  having   unanimously  condemned   the   Con- 

1  The  first  authoritative  edition  of  the  Constitutions  was  published  at 
rague  in  1757. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

stitutions,  began  to  issue  decrees  restricting  the  privileges 
of  the  Society — a  step  in  which  it  had  been  anticipated 
by  the  Parliament  of  Rouen. 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  the  King  interfered, 
and  directed  that  the  decrees  should  not  come  into  force 
for  a  year,  and  in  the  meanwhile  appointed  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal commission,  composed  of  archbishops  and  bishops, 
to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  Constitutions.  Only  two 
members  of  this  commission  went  so  far  as  to  report  in 
favour  of  the  suppression  of  the  Society,  but  several 
advocated  restrictions  upon  its  powers,  and  all  were 
unanimous  in  condemning  the  unlimited  authority  of  the 
General  as  incompatible  with  the  laws  of  the  realm.  In 
consequence,  a  proposal  was  sent  to  Ricci  suggesting  that 
he  should  delegate  his  powers,  so  far  as  France  was  con- 
cerned, to  five  provincial  vicars,  who  should  swear  to 
obey  the  laws  of  the  realm,  to  bring  no  foreign  Jesuit 
into  the  country  without  permission  from  the  King,  and 
to  consent  to  an  inspection  of  their  colleges  by  the 
Parliament. 

Ricci  replied  with  the  historic  "  Sint  ut  sunt  aut  non 
sint''  ("  Let  them  be  as  they  are  or  not  at  all ")  ^  and  all 
hope  of  compromise  was  at  an  end.  The  Queen,  the 
Dauphin,  and  their  friends  made  desperate  efforts  to  save 
the  Society,  while  Clement  XIII.  sent  violent  remon- 
strances to  Louis  and  a  Bull  to  the  French  clergy,  which 
the  King  ordered  to  be  returned  to  the  Pope  unread. 
All  was  vain.     For  a  time  the  monarch  wavered  with 

1  This  suicidal  answer  was  not  improbably  inspired  by  Clement  XIII., 
the  foolish  Pontiff  who  persisted  in  regarding  the  Seven  Years'  War  as  a 
conflict  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism,  and  brought  upon  himself 
the  ridicule  of  Europe  by  sending  the  Austrian  general,  Daun,  after  his 
victory  at  Hochkirch,  a  consecrated  sword  and  hat. 

388 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

his  usual  irresolution,  but  Madame  de  Pompadour  and 
Choiseul  succeeded  in  persuading  him  that  public  opinion 
was  so  inflamed  against  the  Jesuits  that  if  he  persisted  in 
maintaining  them,  a  new  Fronde  would  certainly  break 
out  and  his  own  life  be  in  danger  ;  and  eventually  he 
abandoned  them  to  their  fate  remarking,  with  charac- 
teristic indifference,  that  "  it  would  be  rather  amusing 
to  see  what  Father  Desmarets  (his  confessor)  would 
look  like  as  an  abb6  (in  bands  instead  of  his  long 
gown).    ' 

After  various  repressive  measures,  closing  their  col- 
leges, forbidding  them  to  wear  the  dress  of  their  Order, 
compelling  them  to  vacate  their  houses  and  prohibiting 
them  from  assembling  anew,  and  imposing  on  all  who 
wished  to  exercise  any  ecclesiastical  function  an  oath 
repudiating  the  Society  and  its  General,  the  King, 
in  November  1764,  suppressed  the  Jesuits  in  France. 
Three  years  later  they  were  expelled  from  the  country. 
Their  suppression,  and  still  more  their  expulsion,  were 
attended  by  circumstances  of  great  harshness,  but  it 
cannot  be  said  to  have  been  altogether  undeserved. 
"  The  Jesuits,"  writes  Bernis,  "  had  shown  no  mercy 
to  their  enemies ;  they  received  none  themselves ;  and 
the  stones  of  Port-Royal  which  they  had  levelled  with 
the  ground  fell  again  on  their  own  heads."  ^ 

During  the  anti-Jesuit  campaign  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour found  herself,  for  the  first  time  in  her  career,  in 
accord  with  public  opinion,  and  the  heroine,  instead  of 
the  victim,  of  the  lampoons  in  which  the  contest  was 
very  prolific.  In  one  of  these,  which  purported  to  be 
a  recently   discovered    prophecy,   she  was   compared   to 

^  Memolres  du  Baron  de  Besenval,  ii.  58. 
2  Memoires  et  Lettres  du  Cardinal  de  Bernis,  ii.  104. 
389 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Agnes  Sorel,  the  high-souled  mistress  of  Charles 
VII. :— 

"  Au  livres  du  Destin,  chapitre  des  grands  rois 
On  lit  ces  paroles  ecrites, 
De  France  Agnes  chassera  les  Anglais 
Et  Pompadour  les  Jesuites."  ^ 

A  caricature  of  the  day  represented  the  favourite  shoot- 
ing with  an  arquebuse,  as  in  a  second  Saint-Bartholomew, 
at  a  crowd  of  flying  Jesuits,  while  the  King  was  sprink- 
ling the  bodies  of  the  slain  with  holy  water,  and  the 
magistrates  of  the  Parliament,  in  their  official  robes, 
digging  graves  for  their  reception. 

^  Memo'ires  secrets  pour  servir  a  I'h'istoire   de  la  repuhlique  des  lettresy  i. 
90;   Campardon's  Madame  de  Pompadour^  p.  231. 


390 


CHAPTER    XX 

Louis  XV.  in  love  with  Mademoiselle  de  Romans — Madame 
de  Pompadour  becomes  alarmed — She  visits  the  lady  and  her 
child  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne — The  Marechale  de  Mirepoix's 
view  of  the  situation — Fate  of  Mademoiselle  de  Romans  and 
her  son — Gradual  failure  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  health 
— The  result  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  her  death-blow — Her 
chagrin  at  losing  the  King's  affection — And  at  the  growing 
power  of  Choiseul — "  I  am  dying  of  melancholy  !  " — She 
falls  dangerously  ill  at  Choisy — But  rallies  and  is  removed  to 
Versailles — Drawing  by  Cochin  in  celebration  of  her  supposed 
convalescence — She  has  a  relapse — Her  will — Her  death — 
"  The  marchioness  has  a  wet  day  for  her  journey  " — The 
Queen's  letters  to  President  Henault — Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's character  and  influence  considered. 

After  the  discomfiture  of  Madame  de  Coislin  which 
we  have  related  in  a  previous  chapter,  no  serious  attempt 
seems  to  have  been  made  by  the  ladies  of  the  Court 
to  dispute  the  ascendency  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
who,  of  course,  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  poor 
young  girls  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  whose  very  baseness, 
as  she  once  expressed  it,  was  her  security.  Neverthe- 
less, during  the  last  years  of  her  life  the  marchioness's 
position  was  threatened  by  a  formidable  rival — one  who 
was  neither  a  grande  dame  nor  a  daughter  of  the  people, 
but  who,  like  herself,  belonged  to  the  upper  bourgeoisie. 
This    was    a    certain    Mademoiselle    de    Romans,   whose 

391 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

father  was  a  wealthy  notary  at  Grenoble,  and  who  had 
been  presented  to  the  King  in  the  gardens  of  Marly.^ 

The  lady  was  of  a  rather  uncommon  type  of  beauty, 
being  extraordinarily  tall  for  a  woman,  so  tall,  indeed, 
that,  according  to  Sophie  Arnould,  Louis  XV.,  although 
himself  above  middle  height,  "  seemed  like  a  schoolboy 
beside  her."  Her  shape,  however,  was  perfect,  and  she 
moved  with  the  grace  of  a  queen. 

Mademoiselle  de  Romans  had  refused  to  submit  to 
the  indignity  of  occupying  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs,  and  it 
was  at  Passy,  in  a  house  which  Louis  had  bought  for 
her  there,  that  she  received  the  visits  of  her  royal  lover.^ 
She  bore  the  King  a  son,  who  was  baptized  under  the 
name  of  Louis  Aime,  son  of  "  Charles  de  Bourbon, 
Captain  of  Horse,"  and  the  Dame  de  Meilly-Couionge.^ 

1  Madame  Campan  says  that  Louis  XV.  first  saw  Mademoiselle  de 
Romans  in  Paris  when  she  was  a  child  of  twelve,  and  fell  in  love  with 
her.  By  arrangement  with  her  parents,  he  had  her  educated  with  great 
care  until  she  was  fifteen,  when  she  was  brought  to  Versailles.  Casanova, 
in  a  long  and  highly  unedifying  account  of  his  amatory  adventures  at 
Grenoble,  mentions  her  among  the  ladies  who  succumbed  to  his  fascinations. 
He  takes  great  credit  to  himself  for  having  refrained  from  taking  advan- 
tage of  his  conquest. 

2  Who,  according  to  Barbier,  used  to  visit  her  quite  openly  in  a 
carriage  drawn  by  six  horses. 

3  The  following  letters,  written  by  Louis  XV.  to  Mademoiselle  de 
Romans  at  the  time  of  this  interesting  event,  are  given  by  the  brothers 
De  Goncourt  in  Les  Mattresses  de  Louis  XV.  : — 

"  I  am  very  well  persuaded,  my  giantess,  that  you  have  dropped  some 
hint  since  your  departure  from  here,  but  what  it  is  I  cannot  exactly  say, 
I  do  not  wish  that  our  child  should  be  entered  under  my  name  in  the 
certificate  of  baptism ;  but  I  am  unwilling  that  anything  should  be  done 
which  might  render  it  impossible  for  me  to  recognise  it  in  days  to  come, 
if  such  were  my  pleasure.  I  desire,  therefore,  that  it  be  called  Louis 
Aime  or  Louise  Aimee,  son  or  daughter  of  Louis  the  King  or  Louis 
Bourbon,  whichever  you  wish,  provided  that  your  name  is  also  inserted 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

This  child  was  the  joy  and  pride  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Romans's  life.  She  cherished  the  hope  that  Louis  XV. 
would  follow  the  example  of  his  great-grandfather  and 
legitimate  him,  and  that  she  herself  would  be  given 
a  high  rank  at  Court,  and,  in  her  folly,  she  already  saw 
herself  the  mother  of  a  Due  du  Maine.  Although  she 
had  been  most  strictly  enjoined  not  to  allow  any  one  to 
suspect  the  paternity  of  the  child,  "  her  secret  stifled 
her,"  and,  accordingly,  almost  every  fine  day  in  summer 
she  used  to  repair,  elegantly  dressed,  to  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  carrying  the  boy,  attired  in  the  most  costly 
lace,  in  a  kind  of  basket,  and  sitting  down  on  the  grass, 
close  to  one  of  the  most  frequented  paths,  would  suckle 
the  child,  a  sight  which  naturally  soon  began  to  arouse 
no  small  amount  of  curiosity.  On  one  occasion,  she 
varied   her    programme   by   appearing   at   the  Tuileries, 

in  the  certificate.  It  is  likewise  my  desire  that  the  godfather  or  god- 
mother should  be  poor  people  or  servants,  but  no  one  else.  I  kiss  you 
and  embrace  you  very  tenderly,  my  tall  friend." 

This  letter  bears  the  direction  "  to  Mademoiselle  de  Romans,  Grand 
Rue  de  Passy,  at  Passy." 

"  On  my  arrival  here  I  was  informed  of  your  happy  delivery  ;  I  did 
not  expect  it  so  soon.  The  baptism  must  take  place  this  evening  or 
early  to-morrow  morning.  You  will  tell  the  cure,  under  the  seal  of 
the  confessional,  whose  the  child  is ;  but  you  must  never  speak  of  him,  or 
show  him  to  any  one,  or  give  any  one  the  certificate  of  baptism,  unless 
with  my  consent,  if  that  be  possible,  which  I  believe  it  may  be  some  day. 
For  godfather  and  godmother,  you  may  take  two  servants  upon  whose 
discretion  you  can  rely.  The  name  must  be  Louis  Aime,  son  of  Louis 
de  Bourbon  and  of — your  name — Dame  de  Meilly-Coulonge. 

"  Louis. 

"Versailles,  January  13,  1762,  5  p.m." 

After  writing  this  letter,  the  King  changed  his  mind  about  the  wording 
of  the  certificate,  and  the  name  of  the  father  appeared  therein  as  "  Charles 
de  Bourbon,  Captain  of  Horse,"  instead  of  "  Louis  de  Bourbon." 

393 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  was  quickly  surrounded,  by  a  crowd  of  people,  all 
anxious  to  have  a  peep  at  this  wonderful  infant,  whose 
paternity  was  already  shrewdly  suspected  by  the  gossip- 
loving  Parisians ;  whereupon  the  fond  mother  cried 
out,  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  pray  stand  back  a  little 
and  allow  the  King's  child  to  breathe." 

Madame  de  Pompadour's  confidential  agents  brought 
her  most  alarming  reports  of  the  progress  of  this  affair, 
from  which  it  appeared  that  the  King  was  constantly  at 
Passy  ;  that  the  boy  bore  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
to  his  august  progenitor,  and  that  it  was  the  general 
belief  that  the  latter  intended  to  legitimate  him. 

At  length,  the  marchioness  became  so  much  perturbed 
that  she  determined  to  see  for  herself  what  her  rival,  or 
rather  rivals,  were  like  ;  and,  accordingly,  one  day,  as  she 
was  passing  through  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  on  her  return 
from  a  visit  to  the  porcelain  manufactory  at  Sevres,  she 
ordered  her  coachman  to  stop,  and,  telling  Madame  du 
Hausset  to  follow  her,  alighted  and  made  her  way 
towards  Mademoiselle  de  Romans's  favourite  haunt. 

As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the  carriage, 
Madame  de  Pompadour  pushed  her  hat  over  her  fore- 
head, and  taking  out  a  pocket-handkerchief,  held  it  to 
the  lower  part  of  her  face,  as  if  she  were  suffering  from 
toothache.  With  her  features  thus  partially  concealed, 
she  approached  her  rival,  who,  with  her  child,  was  sitting 
in  her  usual  place  upon  the  grass,  dressed  in  the  height 
of  fashion,  and  with  her  magnificent  black  hair,  which 
one  writer  declares  was  so  abundant  that,  when  let 
down,  it  reached  to  her  knees,  confined  by  a  diamond 
comb. 

After  watching  her  for  a  few  moments,  Madame 
de    Pompadour    made    a    sign    to    her    companion    to 

394 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

speak  to  the  lady,  whereupon  the  following  conversation 
ensued  : — 

Madame  du  Hausset :  "  What  a  very  lovely  child  ! " 

Mademoiselle  de  Romans  :  "  Yes,  madame,  I  must  con- 
fess he  is,  though  I  am  his  mother.  Do  you  reside  in 
this  neighbourhood  ? " 

Madame  du  Hausset:  "Yes,  madame,  I  live  at  Auteuil, 
with  this  lady,  who  is  just  now  suffering  from  a  most 
dreadful  attack  of  toothache." 

Mademoiselle  de  Romans  .•  "  I  pity  her  sincerely,  for  I 
myself  frequently  suffer  from  the  same  complaint." 

Madame  du  Hausset :  "  I  am  sure  such  a  beautiful 
child  must  have  a  handsome  father  .?  " 

Mademoiselle  de  Romans:  "Yes,  he  is  very  handsome  ; 
and  if  I  were  to  tell  you  his  name,  you  would  agree 
with  me." 

Madame  du  Hausset:  "  I  have  the  honour  of  knowing 
him  then,  madame  .?  " 

Mademoiselle  de  Romans :  "Most  probably  you  do." 

Here,  the  conversation,  which  was  beginning  to  take 
an  interesting  turn,  was  cut  short  by  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, who,  fearing  that  she  might  be  recognised  by  some 
of  the  passers-by,  said  a  few  polite  words  in  a  low  tone 
to  the  lady,  and  began  to  move  away.  They  regained 
their  carriage  without  being  observed,  and,  as  the 
marchioness  sank  back  among  the  cushions,  she  said 
with  a  sigh,  "  It  must  be  confessed  that  both  mother 
and  child  are  beautiful  creatures,"  and  added,  "  The 
child  has  his  father's  eyes."  She  returned  to  Versailles 
in  very  low  spirits,  which  the  discovery  that  nearly  all 
her  friends,  including  Choiseul,  shared  her  apprehen- 
sions did  not  tend  to  improve. 

The    astute   little  Marechale   de   Mirepoix,   however, 

395 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

whose  belief  in  Madame  de  Pompadour's  influence  over 
Louis  XV.  had  never  for  a  moment  wavered,  even  in 
the  dark  days  which  had  followed  Damiens's  attempt 
upon  the  monarch's  life,  took  a  much  less  serious  view 
of  the  affair,  and  laughed  at  the  favourite's  fears. 

"  I  do  not  tell  you,"  said  she  to  the  marchioness,  "  that 
the  King  loves  you  better  than  her ;  and  if  by  the  wave 
of  some  enchanted  wand  she  could  be  transported  hither  ; 
if  she  could  entertain  him  this  very  evening  at  supper  ; 
if  she  were  familiar  with  all  his  tastes,  you  might  have 
cause  to  feel  alarmed.  But  princes  are  above  all  crea- 
tures of  habit.  The  King's  attachment  to  you  is  like 
that  which  he  bears  to  your  apartment,  your  furniture. 
You  have  accommodated  yourself  to  his  habits  ;  you 
know  how  to  listen  to  his  stories  ;  he  is  under  no  restraint 
with  you ;  he  has  no  fear  of  wearying  you.  How  do 
you  think  he  could  summon  up  sufficient  resolution  to 
uproot  all  this  in  a  day ;  to  form  a  new  establishment, 
and  to  make  a  public  exhibition  of  himself  by  so  great 
a  change  in  his  arrangements  .?  " 

Madame  de  Pompadour  here  interposed  with  the 
remark  that  it  was  not  so  much  Mademoiselle  de 
Romans  as  her  child  whom  she  feared,  and  that  if  the 
King  were  to  legitimate  the  latter,  the  public  recognition 
of  the  mother  must  follow  as  a  matter  of  course. 

"  All  that,"  rejoined  her  friend,  "  is  in  the  style  of 
Louis  XIV.  Such  dignified  proceedings  are  very  unlike 
our  master.  Be  assured  the  King  cares  very  little  about 
children  ;  he  has  enough  of  them,  and  he  will  not  trouble 
himself  about  the  mother  or  the  child." 

Events  proved  that  the  little  marechale  had  accurately 
gauged  the  situation.  Louis  XV.  showed  no  inclination 
to  imitate  le  Grand  Monarque,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour 

396 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

soon  came  to  look  upon  his  intrigue  with  Mademoiselle 
de  Romans  with  as  much  indifference  as  upon  those  of 
the  Parc-aux-Cerfs. 

After  Madame  de  Pompadour's  death,  a  certain  Abb6  de 
Lustrac,  who  had  charge  of  the  education  of  the  little  Louis 
de  Bourbon,  and  to  whose  care  Mademoiselle  de  Romans 
had  entrusted  the  correspondence  which  had  passed  between 
the  King  and  herself,  plotted  to  secure  for  her  the  post 
of  maitresse  dklaree.  The  Ministers,  however,  but  lately 
released  from  the  domination  of  the  haughty  marchioness, 
were  by  no  means  inclined  to  tamely  submit  to  another 
term  of  petticoat  rule,  and  the  tears  and  importunities  in 
which  the  lady  indulged,  incited  thereto  by  the  scheming 
abbe,  at  first  irritated  and  finally  disgusted  the  King,  who 
determined  to  rid  himself  of  both  her  and  her  boy. 
Mademoiselle  de  Romans's  house  was  forcibly  entered  by 
the  police,  who  seized  all  her  private  papers,  though  they 
failed  to  discover  the  certificate  of  baptism  ;  her  child 
was  taken  away  from  her  and  confided  by  Sartine,  the 
Lieutenant  of  Police,  to  the  care  of  one  of  his  clerks, 
who  was  allowed  five  thousand  livres  a  year  for  the 
expenses  of  his  education ;  v/hile  she  herself  was  married 
to  a  M.  de  Cavanhac,  who  would  appear  to  have  treated 
her  very  badly. 

Scarcely  had  Louis  XVL  ascended  the  throne,  than  the 
mother  sent  him  the  certificate  of  baptism,  and  implored 
him  to  redress  her  child's  wrongs.  The  kind-hearted 
King  at  once  caused  inquiries  to  be  made,  when  the  boy 
was  discovered  at  Lonjumeau,  working  as  a  stable-help, 
his  guardian  having  appropriated  the  money  paid  him 
for  his  charge's  education  to  his  own  use.  Louis  XVL 
recommended  him  to  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  and  he 
was  ordained  and  loaded  with  rich  benefices.     The  Abb6 

397 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

de  Bourbon,  by  which  title  he  was  henceforth  known, 
seems  to  have  been  an  amiable  youth,  and  was  much 
esteemed  by  the  Royal  Family,  and  particularly  by  the 
daughters  of  Louis  XV.,  who  treated  him  in  all  respects 
as  a  younger  brother.  He  died  while  still  a  young  man, 
and  thus  escaped  the  horrors  of  the  Revolution. 

Almost  from  childhood  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
health  had  been  a  source  of  considerable  anxiety  to  her 
friends,  and  her  physicians  had  prescribed  for  her  a  milk 
diet,  and  strictly  cautioned  her  to  avoid  all  fatigue  and 
excitement.  These  directions  she  appears  to  have  fol- 
lowed with  beneficial  results  until  her  installation  at 
Versailles,  when  it  became  no  longer  possible  to  do  so. 
To  retain  her  hold  over  the  King  it  was  necessary  to 
amuse  him,  and  to  amuse  him  it  was  necessary  to  be 
continually  with  him.  Late  hours,  high  living,  frequent 
journeys  over  rough  roads  to  Choisy,  Compiegne,  Marly, 
and  Fontainebleau,  constant  excitement,  ceaseless  anxiety, 
all  combined  to  exhaust  her  strength  ;  and  we  read  in 
her  own  letters  and  the  journals  of  her  contemporaries 
of  severe  colds,  attacks  of  fever,  violent  headaches,  days 
spent  in  bed,  and  "  blood-lettings  in  the  feet "  to  per- 
suade her  to  endure  which  Louis,  on  one  occasion,  gave 
her  a  present  of  six  thousand  livres. 

As  time  goes  on,  the  symptoms  become  more  alarm- 
ing. In  August  1749  d'Argenson  announces  that  the 
marchioness  has  become  "  a  skeleton,"  and  that  the  lower 
part  of  her  face  is  "  yellow  and  withered."  Twelve 
months  later  he  writes  that  she  looks  "  thinner  than 
ever,"  and  adds,  "  It  is  a  miracle  how  she  can  live 
with  all  that  she  has  to  do."  In  April  1756  we  read 
that   she   has  given  up  attending  the  Queen,  owing   to 

398 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

her  liability  to  be  seized  with  violent  palpitations  of 
the  heart.-^  At  the  birth  of  the  Due  de  Bourgogne 
(eldest  son  of  the  Dauphin)  she  fainted  and  had  to  be 
"pushed  behind  a  screen."^  In  November  1757  she 
felt  so  ill,  that  she  believed  her  end  was  near,  and  made 
her  will. 

But  her  recuperative  power  seems  to  have  been  mira- 
culous, and,  taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  after 
the  fall  of  d'Argenson  and  the  defeat  of  Madame  de 
Coislin  all  opposition  to  her  had  ceased,  and  that  she 
might,  therefore,  have  reasonably  looked  forward  to  a 
period  of  comparative  repose,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
her  days  might  not  have  been  greatly  curtailed,  but  for 
the  events  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  By  a  singular  act 
of  divine  justice,  that  war,  in  which  so  many  thousands 
of  her  countrymen  had  been  ruthlessly  sacrificed  to 
gratify  her  vanity  and  ambition,  was  destined  to  prove 
her  own  death-blow.  She  had  dreamed  of  associating 
her  name  with  a  reign  of  conquest,  with  captured  cities 
and  subjugated  provinces,  with  the  aggrandisement  of 
the  monarchy,  with  the  glory  of  the  arms  of  France. 
She    had    dreamed    of   humbling    the    pride    of  "  those 

1  Memo'ires  du  Due  de  Luynes,  xv.  339. 

"Madame  (de  Pompadour)  had  terrible  palpitations  of  the  heart. 
Her  heart  actually  seemed  to  leap.  She  consulted  several  physicians. 
I  recollect  one  of  them  making  her  walk  up  and  down  the  room,  lift  a 
weight,  and  move  quickly.  On  her  expressing  some  surprise,  he  said, 
'  I  do  this  to  ascertain  whether  the  organ  is  diseased ;  in  that  case, 
movement  quickens  the  pulsations ;  if  that  effect  is  not  produced,  the 
complaint  proceeds  from  the  nerves.'  I  repeated  that  to  my  oracle 
Quesnay.  He  knew  very  little  of  the  physician,  but  he  said  his  treatment 
was  that  of  a  clever  man." — Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  p.  245. 

2  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  Madame  de  Lutzelbourg,  September  21, 
1756. 

399 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

villains,"  ^  as  she  called  the  English,  of  forcing  "  the 
Attila  of  the  North  "  to  sue  for  her  pardon,  and  of  earn- 
ing the  eternal  gratitude  and  friendship  of  the  Empress- 
Queen. 

Such  had  been  her  dream  !  What  was  the  reality  ? 
Instead  of  victory,  disaster ;  instead  of  glory,  humilia- 
tion ;  instead  of  aggrandisement,  ruinous  sacrifices  ; 
commerce  annihilated  ;  a  State  on  the  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy ;  a  people  in  want  of  bread  and  seething  with 
discontent  ;  a  sovereign  despised  and  detested. 

The  marchioness  found  herself  compelled  to  "  renounce 
all  her  glory,"  and  the  haughty  woman  never  recovered 
from  the  agony  of  humiliation  such  a  renunciation  in- 
volved. 

Nor,  indeed,  were  other  sources  of  chagrin  wanting  to 
put  the  comble  upon  her  misery.  The  King,  her  womanly 
instinct  told  her,  had  long  ceased  to  love  her ;  he  had 
now  become  absolutely  indifferent  to  her.  Degraded 
and  apathetic  though  he  was,  he  could  not  close  his  eyes 
to  the  shame  and  the  wretchedness  which  the  war  had 
brought  upon  his  kingdom  ;  for  it  affected  all  classes,  the 
landowner  as  well  as  the  farmer,  the  courtier  as  well  as 
the  citizen,  and  she  felt  that  he  regarded  her,  and  with 
justice,  as  the  cause  of  it.  She  had  no  fear  that  he 
would  dismiss  her,  for  her  influence  over  him  was  still  as 
great  as  ever ;  she  was  still  the  confidante,  still  the  amie 
nkessaire  ;  besides  which,  however  much  his  fetters  might 
gall  him,  he  lacked  the  resolution  to  free  himself  from 
them.  But  her  mortification  was  none  the  less  keen  for 
all  that. 

And  Choiseul  again — Choiseul  whom  she  had  raised 

from    obscurity    to    fame — had    long    been    quite    inde- 

^  Madame  de  Pompadour  to  the  Due  d'Aigulllon,  July  1758. 

400 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

pendent  of  any  assistance  from  her/  He  had  added 
to  the  portfolio  for  Foreign  Affairs,  first  that  for  War, 
and  afterwards  that  for  the  Marine,  and  even  talked 
about  taking  charge  of  the  finances  as  well.  His  rela- 
tives and  proteges  filled  all  the  most  lucrative  posts  in  the 
Army,  the  Diplomatic  Service,  and  the  Church  ;  it  was  to 
his  wife  rather  than  to  the  favourite  that  the  grandes 
dames  now  paid  their  court ;  every  day  he  entertained 
fifty  or  sixty  people  at  his  table ;  his  household  expenses 
were  said  to  exceed  eight  hundred  thousand  livres ;  he 
had  become,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  sovereign.  "  People 
think  me  all-powerful,"  the  marchioness  said  one  day  to 
Madame  du  Hausset,  "  but  I  could  not  obtain  a  cross  of 
Saint-Louis  were  it  not  for  M.  de  Choiseul,"  Probably 
she  exaggerated  the  state  of  the  case.  It  is  certain  that 
the  Minister  never  forgot  his  obligation  to  the  favourite, 
and  that  her  requests  were  usually  granted  as  soon  as 
asked,  but  she  had  been  so  long  paramount  that  the  bare 
idea  of  a  rival  influence  was  gall  and  wormwood  to 
her. 

Mindful  of  the  success  which  had  attended  the  pre- 
diction of  the  fortune-teller  Lebon,^  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour, disguised  by  means  of  "  a  false  nose  delicately 
made  of  a  bladder,  which  rendered  it  impossible  to 
recognise  the  face,  and  yet  did  not  present  any  shocking 
appearance,  a  wart  under  her  left  eye,  and  her  eyebrows 

1  "  He  (Choiseul)  has  got  a  credit  with  the  King,  quite  independent  of 
the  lady  (Madame  de  Pompadour).  He  treats  her  often  very  slightly; 
sometimes  roughly  tells  her  she  is  handsome  as  an  angel  when  she  talks 
of  affairs  ;  and  bid  her  throw  a  memo'ire  the  other  day  into  the  iire." — 
Hans  Stanley  to  Pitt,  June  9,  1761. 

2  In  Madame  de  Pompadour's  list  of  pensioners  this  woman  figures  as 
the  recipient  of  an  annuity  of  600  livres. 

401  2  C 


MADAME   DE    POMPADOUR 

painted,"  ^  had,  some  years  before,  in  company  with 
Madame  du  Hausset,  sought  an  interview  with  an- 
other eminent  member  of  the  same  profession,  a  certain 
Madam^e  Bontemps.  Among  other  questions  which  she 
had  put  to  the  woman  had  been  one  relating  to  the 
manner  of  her  death,  and  the  answer  had  been,  "You 
will  have  time  to  prepare  yourself."  One  evening,  not 
long  after  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  the  marchioness  recalled 
this  prediction  to  her  faithful  waiting-woman,  remarking 
bitterly,  "  The  fortune-teller  said  I  should  have  time 
to  prepare  myself.  I  believe  it,  for  /  am  dying  of 
melancholy  r 

It  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  the  case.  So  long  as 
she  had  had  a  definite  end  in  view,  so  long  as  she  had 
had  rivals  to  outwit  and  enemies  to  overcome,  and 
"  glory  "  to  pursue,  her  strength  of  will  had  triumphed 
over  her  physical  infirmities.  But  now  that,  on  the  one 
hand,  she  had  outwitted  her  rivals  and  crushed  her 
enemies,  while,  on  the  other,  her  "glory"  had  proved 
but  an  illusion  and  a  dream,  she  had  no  longer  any 
object  left  to  live  for.  The  stimulus  to  cling  to  life 
once  removed,  the  end  could  not  be  far  distant.  She 
was  soon  a  mere  shadow  of  her  former  self,  and  the  only 
way  that  she  could  contrive  to  hide  the  ravages  of  disease 
was  by  a  thick  layer  of  powder  and  rouge,  which  com- 
pletely concealed  the  skin.  Her  splendid  eyes,  which 
shone  with  an  intensified  lustre,  and  seemed  to  bear 
witness  to  the  indomitable  spirit  which  lurked  within 
that  wasted  frame,  were  all  that  remained  to  her  of  the 
beauty  which  had  captivated  the  heart  of  Louis  XV. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  a  short  visit  of  the  Court  to 
Choisy,  in  February    1764,  that  the  marchioness  finally 

1   Me  moires  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  p.  224. 
402 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

broke  down.  Her  temperature  rose  rapidly,  and  she  was 
racked  by  a  terrible  cough,  which  prevented  her  from 
obtaining  even  brief  intervals  of  repose.  When  the 
Court  returned  to  Versailles,  she  was  so  ill  that  she  was 
compelled  to  remain  behind.  The  doctors  did  not 
conceal  their  anxiety,  and  her  friends  were  prepared  for 
the  worst.  Louis  paid  the  sick  woman  every  possible 
attention,  coming  almost  daily  to  visit  her,  and,  when 
prevented  from  leaving  Versailles,  sending  couriers  every 
hour  to  inquire  how  she  fared.  Possibly  the  King's 
kindness  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  the  patient,  for, 
to  the  surprise  of  her  physicians  and  to  the  delight  of  her 
friends,  she  rallied,  the  fever  left  her,  the  cough  abated, 
and  advantage  was  taken  of  the  improvement  in  her  con- 
dition to  remove  her  to  her  apartments  in  the  chateau  of 
Versailles,  The  patient  herself  seems  to  have  been  con- 
vinced that  she  was  convalescent,  and  gave  orders  to 
Cochin  to  make  a  drawing  in  celebration  of  her  recovery. 
An  eclipse  of  the  sun  had  taken  place  about  this  time, 
and  this  event  was  represented  by  the  artist,  while  the 
poet  Favart  contributed  the  following  verses  in  explana- 
tion of  the  allegory  : — 

"  Le  soleil  est  malade 
Et  Pompadour  aussi ! 
Ce  n'est  qu'une  passade, 
L'un  et  I'autre  est  gueri. 
Le  bon  Dieu,  qui  feconde 
Nos  voeux  et  notre  amour, 
Pour  le  bonheur  du  monde 
Nous  a  rendu  le  jour 
Avec  Pompadour. 
Voium  popuU,  latts  ejus." 

Other  people,  however,  took  a  much  less  cheerful  view 

403 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  the  case,  and  we  find  Madame  du  DefFand  writing  to 
Voltaire  :  "  Madame  de  Pompadour  is  much  better  ;  but 
her  illness  is  not  nearly  over,  and  I  dare  not  entertain 
much  hope."  ^ 

Madame  du  Deffand  was  right.  Scarcely  had  the 
marchioness  returned  to  Versailles  than  her  malady 
redoubled  in  intensity,  and  the  doctors  were  compelled 
to  inform  her  that  her  last  hour  was  approaching.  She 
received  the  announcement  with  unflinching  courage,  and 
immediately  sent  to  the  King  to  inquire  what  he  wished 
her  to  do  under  the  circumstances — whether  to  accept 
the  consolations  of  religion,  or  to  decline  to  receive  a  con- 
fessor. Louis  replied  that  he  desired  to  see  her  reconciled 
to  God,  and,  accordingly,  the  cure  of  La  Madeleine,  the 
parish  in  which  the  Hotel  d'Evreux  was  situated,  was 
sent  for. 

The  morning  of  her  death  (April  15,  1764)  she  re- 
opened the  will  which  she  had  made  in  November  1757, 
and  read  it  carefully  through.  Its  contents  were  as 
follows : — 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy   Ghost. 

"  I,  Jeanne-Antoinette  Poisson,  Marquise  de  Pompa- 
dour, separated  wife  of  Charles-Guillaume  Lenormant, 
dcuyer^  have  made  and  written  this  present  testament  and 
ordinance  of  my  last  will,  which  I  desire  shall  be  executed 
in  its  entirety. 

"  I  recommend  my  soul  to  God,  beseeching  Him  to 
have  mercy  upon  it,  and  to  accord  me  grace  to  repent 
and  to  die  in  a  state  worthy  of  His  clemency,  hoping 

1  Lettres  de  Madame  du  Dejfand  (edited  by  M.  de  Lescure),  p.  288. 

404 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

to  satisfy  His  justice  through  the  merits  of  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  my  Saviour,  and  through  the  powerful 
intercession  of  the  Holy  Virgin  and  of  all  the  saints 
of  Paradise. 

*'  I  desire  that  my  body  be  carried  to  the  Capuchins 
of  the  Place  Vendome  at  Paris,  without  any  ceremony, 
and  that  it  be  there  buried  in  the  vault  of  the  chapel 
which  they  have  allotted  me  in  their  church. 

"  I  leave  to  M.  Collin,  in  recognition  of  his  attach- 
ment to  my  person,  a  pension  of,       .  .     6,000  livres 
To  M.  Quesnay   .....     4,000    „ 
To  M.  Nesmes     .....     3,000    „ 
To  M.  Lefevre,  overseer        .          .  .      1,200    ,, 
"To    my    three    waiting-women,    to    Mademoiselle 
Jeanneton,  to  my   three   valets-de-chamhre^  to   my   men- 
cooks,  officers,  steward,  butler,  and  concierge,  to  each  the 
income  at  ten  per  cent,  on  the  sum  of  500  livres ;  and  to 
make  ray  intentions  clearer,  I  am  going  to  cite  an  instance. 
Madame  Labbaty  has  been  with  me  twelve   years ;    she 
would  be  paid  600  livres  a-year  for  life,  that  is  to  say, 
twelve  times  fifty  at  ten  per  cent,  on  a  capital  sum  of 
500  livres,  provided  that  for  each  year  of  service  it  will 
be  increased  by  a  further  50  livres. 

"  I  leave  to  my  footmen,  coachmen,  porters,  ushers, 
gardeners,  and  wardrobe-women  the  sum  of  300  livres, 
of  which  they  will  be  paid  the  interest  according  to  the 
plan  which  I  have  explained  in  the  preceding  clause. 

"  I  bequeath  to  the  rest  of  my  servants  who  are  not 
included  in  the  two  above-mentioned  clauses,  500  livres 
of  capital,  out  of  which  they  will  receive  pensions  in  the 
same  manner  as  I  have  already  explained. 

"  Further,  I  direct  that  all  the  pensions  and  endow- 
ments created  during  my  life-time  shall  be  paid  without 

405 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

any  deduction.  And,  further,  I  give  to  my  waiting- 
women  everything  belonging  to  my  wardrobe — gowns, 
underclothing,  dresses,  and  lace  therein  contained. 

"  Further,  I  bequeath  to  my  third  waiting-woman  a 
legacy  of  3000  livres,  in  addition  to  her  annuity ;  and 
also  to  the  wardrobe-woman  in  daily  attendance  upon 
me  a  legacy  of  1200  livres,  in  addition  to  her  life- 
annuity. 

"  Further,  to  my  three  valets-de-chamhre^  a  legacy 
of  3000  livres. 

"  I  beg  the  King's  acceptance  of  the  gift  which  I  am 
making  him  of  my  hotel  in  Paris,^  it  being  suitable  for 
converting  into  a  palace  for  one  of  his  grandchildren. 
My  desire  is  that  it  should  be  for  Monseigneur  le  Comte 
de  Provence.^ 

"  I  also  beg  His  Majesty's  acceptance  of  the  gift  which 
I  am  making  him  of  all  my  engraved  stones  by  Guay, 
whether  bracelets,  rings,  seals,  &c.,  to  augment  his 
cabinet  of  precious  engraved  stones. 

"  As  for  the  residue  of  my  moveables  and  immov- 
ables, of  whatever  kind  and  wherever  they  may  be,  I  give 
and  bequeath  them  to  Abel-Francois  Poisson,  Marquis 
de  Marigny,  my  brother,  whom  I  make  and  appoint  my 
sole  legatee  ;  and  in  the  event  of  his  decease,  I  appoint 
in  his  stead  and  place  M.  Poisson  de  Malvoisin,^  quarter- 

1  The  Hotel  d'Evreux,  now  the  Elysee. 

2  Afterwards  Louis  XVIII. 

3  This  Poisson  de  Malvoisin  was  originally  a  drummer  in  the  regiment 
of  Piedmont.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  his  relative's  elevation,  he  went 
to  her  and  solicited  her  good  offices  to  obtain  him  promotion.  The 
marchioness,  aware  of  the  prejudice  that  existed  in  the  army  against 
officers  not  of  noble  birth,  advised  him  to  retire  and  promised  him  her 
assistance  in  some  other  profession.  This  he  declined  to  do,  representing 
that  her  influence  would  be  paramount  in  the  army  as  elsewhere.      She 

406 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

master  in  the  army,  and  at  the  present  moment  brigadier 
in  the  Carabineers,  and  his  children. 

"  I  appoint  as  executor  of  my  present  testament  M. 
le  Prince  de  Soubise,  whom  I  empower  to  act  and  to 
make  all  arrangements  which  he  may  consider  necessary 
for  the  due  execution  of  the  said  will,  and  especially 
to  set  aside  such  moneys,  rents,  and  effects  belonging 
to  my  estate  as  he  may  deem  suitable  for  the  payment 
in  full  of  all  the  life-annuities  bequeathed  by  me  ;  and 
in  case  he  should  find  them  inadequate  for  the  purpose, 
I  empower  him  to  provide  from  the  sale  of  my  moveables 
a  sufficient  sum  to  acquire  securities  or  annuities,  the 
funds  from  which  will  serve  to  discharge  the  said  life- 
pensions,  and  also  to  select  and  nominate  such  person 
as  he  shall  deem  suitable,  and  to  pay  him  such  salary 
as  he  may  deem  sufficient,  to  collect  the  revenues  set 
apart  by  the  executor  of  my  will  and  to  pay  the  aforesaid 
life-annuities  to  each  of  the  aforesaid  legatees,  who,  in 
virtue  of  this  assignment  and  appropriation,  will  have  no 
power  to  lay  claim  to  anything,  nor  have  any  rights  or 
charges  upon  the  rest  of  the  property  belonging  to  my 
estate. 

"  However  troublesome  M.  de  Soubise  may  find  the 
commission  I  am  giving  him,  he  ought  to  regard  it  as 
a  sure  proof  of  the  confidence  with  which  his  probity 
and  his  virtues  have  inspired  me.     I  beg  his  acceptance 

yielded  and  persuaded  the  Due  de  Biron,  colonel  of  the  Regiment 
du  Roi,  to  procure  Malvoisin  a  commission  in  his  own  corps.  The 
officers,  however,  were  not  so  complaisant  as  their  colonel,  and  politely 
intimated  to  the  ex-drummer  that,  if  he  wished  to  remain  in  the  regiment, 
it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  fight  a  duel  with  every  one  of  them  in 
turn.  Not  relishing  the  prospect,  he  withdrew ;  and  Madame  de 
Pompadour  consoled  him  by  obtaining  him  a  lieutenancy  in  a  dragoon 
regiment. 

407 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  two  of  my  rings,  one  my  large  aigue-marine  coloured 
diamond,  the  other  an  engraving  by  Guay  representing 
Friendship.  I  flatter  myself  that  he  will  never  part  with 
them,  and  that  they  will  recall  to  his  memory  the  person 
who  has  entertained  for  him  the  most  tender  of 
friendships. 

"Executed  at  Versailles,  November  15,  1757. 

"Jeanne-Antoinette  Poisson, 

"  Marquise  de  Pompadour." 

The  marchioness  next  read  over  the  codicil  which  she 
had  written  on  the  back  of  this  will,  March  30,  1761  : — 

"  I  bequeath  to  Abel-Francois  Poisson,  Marquis  de 
Marigny,  my  brother,  the  land  belonging  to  my  mar- 
quisate  and  peerage  of  Menars  and  whatever  he  will  find 
there  at  my  decease,  and  after  him  to  his  children  and 
grandchildren  male,  to  the  eldest  in  all  cases.  If  he 
has  only  daughters,  the  entail  will  lapse,  and  the  land 
must  be  divided  amongst  them. 

"  In  the  event  of  my  brother  dying  without  issue,  I 
appoint  in  his  stead  and  place,  subject  to  the  same  con- 
ditions, M.  Poisson  de  Malvoisin,  at  the  present  moment 
brigadier  in  the  Carabineers."^ 

And  she  dictated  to  Collin^  this  second  codicil : — 

"  I  desire  to  make  bequests  as  tokens  of  friendship  and 
as  souvenirs  of  myself  to  the  following  persons  : 

"  To  Madame  du  Roure^  the  portrait  of  my  daughter. 

1  On  the  death  of  the  Marquis  de  Marigny  without  issue  in  1781, 
Poisson  de  Malvoisin  succeeded  to  this  property. 

2  Collin,  as  has  been  mentioned,  was  a  duly- qualified  attorney  before 
he  became  Madame  de  Pompadour's  major-domo. 

^  She  was  a  sister  of  the  Due  de  Gontaut. 

408 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Although  my  daughter  had  not  the  honour  of  being 
related  to  her,  she  will  serve  to  remind  her  of  the  friend- 
ship which  I  have  entertained  for  Madame  du  Uoure. 

"To  Madame  la  Marechale  de  Mirepoix  my  new 
diamond  watch. 

"  To  Madame  de  Chateau  de  Renaud  a  box  containing 
a  portrait  of  the  King  set  with  diamonds. 

"To  Madame  la  Duchesse  de  Choiseul  a  silver  box 
set  with  diamonds. 

"  To  Madame  la  Duchesse  de  Grammont  ^  a  box  on 
which  is  a  diamond  butterfly. 

"  To  M.  le  Due  de  Gontaut  ^  a  wedding-ring  of  rose 

^  The  Duchesse  de  Grammont  (Beatrix  de  Choiseul- Stainville)  was 
Choiseul's  sister  and  married  in  1759  the  Due  de  Grammont.  She  was 
thus  described  by  Hans  Stanley,  the  English  envoy  in  Paris  during  the 
peace  negotiations  of  1761,  in  a  letter  to  Pitt: — "The  Duchesse  (de 
Grammont)  is  the  only  person  who  has  any  weight  witli  her  brother,  the 
Due  de  Choiseul.  She  never  dissembles  her  dislike  or  contempt  of  any 
man,  in  whatever  degree  of  elevation.  It  is  said  that  she  might  have 
supplied  the  place  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  if  she  had  pleased.  She 
treats  the  ceremonies  and  pageants  of  Courts  as  things  beneath  her ; 
she  possesses  a  most  uncommon  share  of  understanding,  and  has  very 
high  notions  of  honour  and  reputation."  It  was  probably  through  his 
haughty  sister's  influence  that  Choiseul  refused  the  political  alliance 
which  Madame  du  Barry  offered  him — a  refusal  which  brought  about 
his  disgrace.  During  the  Reign  of  Terror,  the  duchess  was  arrested  and 
brought  to  trial,  together  with  her  friend,  the  Duchesse  de  Chatelet. 
She  exhibited,  on  this  occasion,  the  most  dauntless  courage,  disdaining  to 
ask  mercy  for  herself,  but  pleading  most  eloquently  for  her  friend,  "  who 
had  injured  no  one,  and  whose  whole  life  afforded  nothing  hut  an 
example  of  virtue  and  beneficence."  Both  ladies  perished  on  the  same 
scaffold. 

2  Armand  Louis  de  Gontaut,  afterwards  Due  de  Biron.  Madame  du 
Hausset  says  of  him  :  "  He  was  very  gay,  and  had  the  art  of  creating 
gaiety.  Some  one  said  he  was  an  excellent  piece  of  furniture  for  a 
favourite.  He  makes  her  laugh  and  asks  for  nothing  either  for  himself  or 
for  others.      He  was  called  the  White  Eunuch." 

409 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

and  white  diamonds,  tied  with  a  green  knot ;  and  a  cor- 
nelian box  which  he  has  always  much  admired. 

"To  M.  le  Due  de  Choiseul  an  aigue-marine  tinted 
diamond  and  a  black  box  pique  and  a  cup. 

"  To  M.  le  Marechal  de  Soubise  a  ring  by  Guay 
representing  Friendship  :  it  is  his  portrait  and  mine  for 
the  twenty  years  I  have  known  him. 

"  To  Madame  d'Amblimont  ^  my  set  of  emeralds. 

"  If  I  have  forgotten  any  of  my  people,  I  pray  my 
brother  to  attend  to  it,  and  I  confirm  my  will.  I  hope 
that  he  will  approve  of  the  codicil  which  friendship 
dictates  to  me,  and  which  I  have  directed  M.  Collin  to 
write,  as  I  have  only  sufficient  strength  to  sign  it. 

"At  Versailles,  April  15,  1764. 

"(Signed)       La  Marquise  de  Pompadour." 

1  Madame  d'Amblimont  was  devoted  to  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who 
used  to  call  her  and  Madame  d'Esparb^s  "her  kittens,"  and  to  declare 
that  they  amused  her  as  much  as  the  chase  amused  the  King.  Her  fidelity 
to  her  friend,  on  a  certain  occasion,  received  a  severe  test.  "  I  one  day 
said  to  her  (Madame  de  Pompadour),"  relates  Madame  du  Hausset, 
'  It  appears,  madame,  that  you  are  fonder  than  ever  of  the  Comtesse 
d'Amblimont.'  *  I  have  reason  to  be,'  said  she.  *  She  is  unique, 
I  think,  for  her  fidelity  to  her  friends  and  for  her  honour.  Listen, 
but  tell  no  one.  Four  days  ago,  the  King,  passing  her  on  his  way  to 
supper,  tried  to  slip  a  note  into  her  hands.  D'Amblimont,  in  her  mad- 
cap way,  put  her  hands  behind  her  back,  and  the  King  was  obliged  to 
pick  up  the  note  which  had  fallen  on  the  ground.  Gontaut  was  the  only 
person  who  saw  all  this,  and,  after  supper,  he  went  up  to  the  little  lady 
and  said,  "  You  are  an  excellent  friend."  "  I  did  my  duty,"  said  she, 
and  immediately  put  her  finger  on  her  lips  to  enjoin  him  to  be  silent. 
He,  however,  informed  me  of  this  act  of  friendship  on  the  part  of  the 
little  heroine,  who  had  not  told  me  of  it  herself.'  I  expressed  my 
admiration  of  the  countess's  virtue,  and  madame  said^:  '  She  is  giddy  and 
headstrong,  but  she  has  more  sense  and  more  feeling  than  a  thousand  prudes 
and  devotees.  D'Esparb^s  would  not  have  done  as  much  ;  most  likely  she 
would  have  met  him  half-way.'  " — Memoir es  de  Madame  du  Hausset,  p.  8 1. 

410 


MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR 

The  marchioness  next  charged  Collin  to  recompense  all 
those  who  had  attended  her  during  her  illness,  and  to 
distribute  among  the  poor  any  money  that  he  might  find 
in  her  desk. 

These  dispositions  finished,  she  ordered  her  women  to 
dress  her  and  put  some  rouge  on  her  pallid  cheeks,  and 
directed  that  Janelle,  the  Intendant  of  the  Post-Office, 
who,  unaware  that  the  end  was  so  near,  had  called  to 
pay  his  usual  visit,  should  be  admitted.  She  read  the 
extracts  he  submitted  to  her  and  discussed  their 
importance  with  him  with  as  much  apparent  interest 
as  if  she  had  been  in  the  enjoyment  of  full  health, 
and  then,  lying  back  in  an  arm-chair,  calmly  awaited 
the  end. 

Presently  the  cure  of  La  Madeleine  was  shown  in, 
and  remained  with  the  dying  woman  for  some  time.  As 
he  rose  to  leave,  the  marchioness  signed  to  him  to  re- 
main, remarking,  with  a  smile,  "  One  jnoment^  Monsieur 
le  Curi,  we  will  take  our  departure  together^ 

A  few  minutes  afterwards  she  expired  at  the  age  of 
forty-two. 


Madame  de  Pompadour  retained  her  empire  intact  to 
her  last  hour ;  no  sooner  had  she  closed  her  eyes  than 
she  was  forgotten.  Louis  XV.  received  the  news  of  the 
death  of  the  woman  who  had  shared  his  life  for  nearly 
twenty  years  with  the  most  absolute  indifference.  As 
the  funeral  cortege  left  Versailles  on  its  way  to  Paris, 
it  was  raining  heavily.  The  King  stood  at  the  window 
of  his  apartments,  watching  it  with  the  idle  curiosity 
which  the  sight  of  that  of  an  entire  stranger  might 
have   aroused,  and   merely  remarked,  as    it    passed    out 

411 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

of  sight,  *'  The  marchioness  has  a  wet  day  for  her 
journey  r  ^ 

And  a  few  days  later  we  find  Marie  Leczinska  writing 
to  her  confidant,  old  President  Renault :  "  Finally,  there 
is  no  more  talk  here  of  her  who  is  no  longer  than  if  she 
had  never  existed.  Such  is  the  way  of  the  world ;  it  is 
very  hard  to  love  it."  ^ 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the 
character  of  Madame  de  Pompadour.  That  her  private 
life  calls  for  very  severe  condemnation  it  would  be  idle 
to  deny ;  yet  must  she  not  be  judged  by  the  standard 
of  morality  which  obtains  to-day.  In  her  time  conjugal 
fidelity  hardly  existed.  "  A  Frenchwoman,"  says  Sydney 
Smith,  writing  of  the  marchioness's  contemporary, 
Madame  d'Epinay,  "  seems  always  to  have  wanted  the 
flavour  of  prohibition  as  a  necessary  condiment  to 
human  life.  The  provided  husband  was  rejected  ;  and 
the  forbidden  husband  introduced  through  posterns  and 

1  This  is  the  generally  accepted  account ;  but,  in  justice  to  the  memory 
of  this  much-abused  monarch,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  there  is  another 
and  very  different  story,  which  is  related  by  Dufort,  the  introducteur 
of  the  Ambassadors,  in  his  Memo'ires  :  "  The  day  of  the  marchioness's 
burial  arrived.  It  was  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  a  terrible  storm 
was  raging.  The  marchioness  had  by  her  will  directed  that  she  should 
be  buried  in  the  Church  of  the  Capuchins,  Place  Vendome,  where  she 
had  prepared  a  superb  tomb.  The  King  took  Champlost's  (his  valet- de- 
chamhre)  arm.  Having  approached  the  glass-door  of  his  private  cabinet, 
which  opened  on  to  the  balcony,  he  maintained  a  solemn  silence,  watched 
the  cortege  filing  through  the  avenue,  and  followed  it  with  his  eyes,  in 
spite  of  the  wind  and  rain,  to  which  he  appeared  insensible.  As  he 
re-entered  the  room,  two  great  tears  coursed  down  his  cheeks ;  but  all 
he  said  to  Champlost  was,  '  That  is  the  only  mark  of  respect  that  I  have 
been  able  to  pay  her  ' — than  which  no  more  eloquent  words  could  have 
been  spoken  at  such  a  moment." 

2  Memo'ires  du  President  Henault,  p.  421. 

412 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

secret  partitions.  It  was  not  the  union  to  one  man  that 
was  objected  to — for  they  dedicated  themselves  with 
a  constancy  which  the  most  household  and  parturient 
woman  in  England  could  not  have  exceeded — but  the 
thing  wanted  was  the  wrong  man,  the  gentleman  without 
the  ring,  the  master  unsworn  to  at  the  altar,  the  person 
unconsecrated  by  priests."  ^  Such  a  state  of  affairs  was 
the  inevitable  result  of  girls  not  being  permitted  to 
choose  their  own  husbands,  and  not  meeting  with  their 
affinities  until  after  marriage.  It  was,  indeed,  as  much 
a  matter  of  course  for  a  man  to  make  love  to  his 
neighbour's  wife  as  to  wear  a  wig  or  carry  a  sword ; 
as  much  a  matter  of  course  for  a  woman  to  yield  to 
the  fascinations  of  some  fashionable  Lovelace  of  the  time 
as  to  powder  her  hair  or  rouge  her  cheeks.  A  couple 
true  to  their  marriage  vows  appear  to  have  been  re- 
garded with  positive  disapproval.  D'Argenson  speaks 
of  the  "  bad  taste  "  displayed  by  the  Due  and  Duchesse 
de  Chartres  in  being  so  constantly  in  each  other's  society 
— this,  it  may  be  remarked,  was  in  the  first  years  of 
their  married  life ;  they  were  unfaithful  enough  after- 
wards by  all  accounts.  And  the  same  chronicler,  on 
hearing  of  the  indignation  exhibited  by  the  Flemings 
at  the  appearance  of  Madame  de  Ch^teauroux  in  the 
King's  train  during  the  campaign  of  1744,  writes  in 
his  journal :  "  What  a  foolish  prejudice  to  find  fault 
with  pleasures  that  do  harm  to  no  one !  "  And  yet 
d'Argenson  was  a  man  of  high  principle,  and  as  far 
removed  from  the  Richelieus  of  his  day  as  was  the 
elder  Pitt  from  "  Jemmy  Twitcher." 

Taking   these    facts   into    consideration,    it    must,   we 
think,  be  admitted  that  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  no 

1  Edinburgh  Revieiv,  December  181 8. 
413 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

worse,  and  possibly  a  good  deal  better,  than  the  majority 
of  her  contemporaries,  since  she  was,  at  least,  faithful 
in  her  infidelity.  It  was  her  misfortune  to  have  suc- 
ceeded where  others  failed,  and  she  paid  the  penalty 
of  success.  The  women  who  envied  her  while  she  was 
alive,  and  .bespattered  her  memory  when  she  had  passed 
away,  were  certainly  not  entitled  to  cast  stones  at  her ; 
but,  as  their  lovers  did  not  happen  to  be  kings,  their 
amours  were  perhaps  unknown  to  any  one  save  their 
accommodating  confessors,  and  they  are,  in  consequence, 
regarded  by  their  descendants  as  examples  of  all  the 
domestic  virtues.  Had  Madame  de  Pompadour  been 
less  beautiful,  less  charming,  less  witty,  less  accomplished, 
had  she,  in  short,  failed  to  attract  the  attention  of 
Louis  XV.,  she  might  have  had  a  score  of  lovers  and 
yet  have  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity. 

Much  has  been  said  of  her  implacability,  and  of  her 
unscrupulous  treatment  of  her  enemies  ;  but  here  again 
allowance  must  be  made.  It  was  in  most  cases  her  life, 
so  to  speak,  against  theirs.  The  ambitious  Ministers, 
envious  women,  and  scheming  Jesuits  by  whom  she  was 
surrounded  would  certainly  have  stuck  at  nothing  to 
compass  her  downfall ;  and  if  she  occasionally  stooped  to 
encounter  them  with  their  own  weapons,  she  cannot 
be  greatly  blamed.  Surely  such  persons  as  Maurepas, 
d'Argenson,  Madame  d'Estrades,  and  the  perjured  Sacy 
and  his  confreres  are  unworthy  of  any  sympathy  ! 

In  regard  to  what  may  be  called  her  public  life,  there 
can  be  no  question  that  her  influence  upon  affairs  of 
State  was  most  baneful,  yet  not  more  so  than  that  of 
any  other  favourite  would  have  been  at  this  period. 
To  hold  her  responsible  for  the  long  series  of  disasters 
during   the   Seven   Years'  War,  except  in  so  far   as  the 

414 


MADAME    DE   POMPADOUR 

entry  of  France  into  that  lamentable  struggle  was  due 
to  her  influence,  is  to  show  the  most  complete  ignorance 
of  history.  From  the  very  beginning  of  the  contest 
France  was  foredoomed  to  failure.  Decay  not  only  in 
the  army  and  the  navy,  but  in  every  department  of  State 
had  been  going  on  practically  unchecked  for  years ; 
it  would  have  needed  the  administrative  genius  of  a 
Richelieu,  the  military  genius  of  a  Napoleon,  to  have 
insured  success  under  such  circumstances,  whereas  France 
could  not  boast  a  single  statesman — with  the  possible 
exception  of  Choiseul — or  a  single  general  of  even  first- 
rate  ability. 

Apart  from  her  responsibility  for  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  Madame  de  Pompadour 
really  did  much  harm — whether,  indeed,  the  good  did 
not  outweigh  the  evil.  On  the  one  hand,  we  have  the 
dismissal  of  several  more  or  less  capable  Ministers,  and 
a  good  deal  of  nepotism  and  venality,  at  a  time  when 
nepotism  and  venality  were  both  rampant.  The  charge 
that  she  degraded  the  monarchy  may  be  dismissed ; 
Louis  XV.  was  quite  capable  of  degrading  it  without 
any  assistance  from  her.  On  the  other,  we  find  her  the 
supporter  of  Choiseul ;  "  the  connecting  link  between  the 
most  literary  of  epochs  and  the  least  literary  of  kings  ;  "  ^ 
the  patroness  of  French  art,  at  a  time  when  French  art 
was  languishing  for  want  of  such  patronage ;  the  creator 
of  the  manufactory  of  Sevres ;  the  founder  of  the  Ecole 
Militaire.  But,  unfortunately  for  her  reputation,  it  is 
by  the  results  of  her  foreign  policy — if  her  Austrian 
predilections  and  Prussian  antipathies  can  be  dignified 
by  that  name — that  she  will  always  be  judged;  the 
Seven  Years'  War  overshadows  everything  else. 

^   Sainte-Beuve's  Causerles  du  Lundi,  ii.  398. 


MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR 

Her  career  affords  us  two  very  useful  object-lessons 
— a  moral  one  and  a  political  one.  Of  the  former  we 
do  not  propose  to  speak ;  it  is  sufficiently  obvious. 
But  of  the  latter  we  may  venture  to  say  one  word.  It 
is,  that  when  a  woman,  occupying  a  position  of  excep- 
tional influence,  is  content  to  confine  her  energies  to 
matters  with  which  her  sex  may  safely  concern  itself,  her 
influence  will,  as  a  general  rule,  be  beneficial,  as  Madame 
de  [Pompadour's  undoubtedly  was  upon  literature  and 
art.  But  when  she  begins  to  meddle  with  public  aff^airs, 
to  endeavour  to  control  the  appointment  of  Ministers, 
of  Ambassadors,  and  of  generals,  and  to  direct  their 
policy  and  operations,  however  well-meaning,  however 
gifted  she  may  be,  her  influence  cannot  fail  to  be 
most  mischievous,  for,  as  d'Argens  has  truly  observed, 
"the  prejudices  of  man  emanate  from  the  mind  and 
may  be  overcome ;  the  prejudices  of  woman  emanate 
from  the  heart  and  are  impregnable." 

"  Madame  de  Pompadour,"  says  Sainte-Beuve,"  ought 
perhaps  to  be  considered  as  the  last  king's  mistress 
worthy  of  that  name ;  after  her,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  descend  and  enter  decently  into  the  history  of  the  Du 
Barry.  The  kings  and  emperors  who  have  succeeded 
in  France,  from  that  time  to  our  own  day  (1850),  have 
been  either  too  virtuous,  or  too  despotic,  or  too  gouty,  or 
too  penitent,  or  too  domesticated,  to  allow  themselves 
such  useless  things ;  at  most  only  traces  of  them  have 
been  met  with.  The  race  of  king's  mistresses,  then, 
may  be  said,  if  not  to  have  ended,  at  least  to  have  been 
greatly  interrupted,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour  re- 
mains in  our  eyes  the  last  in  our  history  and  the  most 
brilliant." 


416 


INDEX 


Adelaide.     Madame     (daughter     of 

Louis    XV.),    71,     146,    203,    205, 

258,  309 
Agenois,  Due  d' :  see  Aiguillon,  Due  d 
Aiguillon,  Due  d',  7,  8,  352,  353 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  Treaty  of,   109,   III, 

266,  274,  287,  302,  328,  329 
Albemarle,   William   Keppel,    Earl  of, 

285  and  note,  286  and  note 
Alembert,  D',  31  note,  191,  251,  252, 

253.  254 

Alfieri,  Benedict  Innocent  (architect), 
163  and  note 

Allegre    (Bastille    prisoner),    122-124, 
129 

"Alliance   of   the   Three    Petticoats," 
The,  377 

Alzire,  Voltaire's,  95  note,    241,  242 
note 

Amblimont,     Madame     d',    410    and 
note 

Andlau,  Abbe  d',  36 

Angerville,    Mouffle   d'    (quoted),    36, 
38,  325,  372,  375,  383 

Angervilliers,  Madame  d',  25 

Archinto,  Abbe,  358,  359 

Argens,  Marquis  d'  (quoted),  416 

Argenson,  Comte  d' 

his  services  to  the  State  as  Minister 
for  War,  190,  191  ;  supplies  Vol- 
taire with  materials  for  his  Slide 
d£  Louis  XV.,  191  ;  his  ambition, 
191  ;  antagonism  between  him  and 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  192-194; 
rebuffed  by  the  King,  194 ;  gains 
over  Madame  d'Estrades  to  his 
side,  195,  196  ;  conspires  with 
Madame  d'Estrades  and  Madame 
de  Choiseul  -  Romanet  against  the 
favourite,  196-200;  renews  his  in- 
trigues after  the  disgrace  of  Madame 
de  Choiseul  -  Romanet,  202-204; 
refuses  to  be  reconciled  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  207  ;  urges  the 
advisability  of  an  alliance  with 
Frederick  the  Great,  288 ;  strongly 


Argenson,  Comte  d' — continued 

opposes  the  First  Treaty  of  Ver- 
sailles, 304 ;  his  conduct  after  the 
attempted  assassination  of  Louis 
XV.  by  Damiens,  316,  317;  again 
refuses  to  be  reconciled  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  317  ;  his  stormy 
interview  with  the  marchioness, 
318,  319;  dismissed  from  office 
and  exiled,  320-323 ;  granted  a 
pension  on  the  application  of  the 
favourite,   323 ;  his  death,  323 

Argenson,  Marquis  d' 

his  foreign  policy,  73,  74  ;  intrigues 
against  him,  74,  75  ;  dismissed  from 
office,  75  ;  his  charges  of  corruption 
against    Madame    de    Pompadour, 

13s.  136 

(quoted),  7,    10   note,    88   note, 

105,     112,     144,     199,    202,     204, 

225,  226  note,  229  note,  270,  291 

note,  312,  398,  413 

Arnould,  Sophie  (quoted),  392 

Aubrespry,  Jeanneton  (mother  of  La- 

tude),  116,  128 
Augustus  III.,  Elector  of  Saxony,  King 

of  Poland,  74,  266,  280 
Aumont,  Due  d',  246,  251 
Austrian   Succession,  War  of  the,   7^» 

81  note,  275,  322,  331 
Aveiros,  Duke  d',  381 
Ayen,  Due  d',  81,  87,  88,  189 

Babiole,  Conference  of,  301,  302 

Bachelier,  144 

Barbier  (quoted),  33  note,  38,  39,  96, 

97.  339,  347  note,  379,  392  note 
Barry,  Madame  du,  81,  213  note 
Bastille,  The,  104  and  note,   110,   118, 

119,    120,    122,    123,    124,    125,   126, 

127,  130,  133,  240,  251,  318 
Beaumont,  Christophe  de,  Archbishop 

of  Paris,  325  and  note 
Eellefonds,  Madame  de,  48,  81 
Belle-Isle,  Marechal  de,  14,  75-77,  143, 

323,  349,  351.  370 


•17 


INDEX 


Bellevue,  Chateau  of,  io6,  149-153,  226 
note,  301 

Benedict  XIV.,  Pope,  234,  355 

Benoist,  Annette,  121 

Bernage,  37,  38,  39 

Bernard,  Simon,  72  note 

Bernis,  Abbe  (afterwards  Cardinal)  de 
his  early  life,  53,  54 ;  anecdotes 
about  him,  54  note,  55 '  assists 
Madame  d'Etioles  in  the  composi- 
tion of  her  love-letters,  5,  6;  goes 
as  French  Ambassador  to  Venice, 
134  J  endeavours  to  reconcile  Ma- 
dame de  Pompadour  and  the  Comte 
d'Argenson,  206 ;  prevails  upon 
Louis  XV.  "to  subdue  his  passion 
for  Madame  de  Coislin,"  293  note; 
opposed  to  an  alliance  between 
France  and  Austria,  300,  301  ;  but 
consents  to  act  as  intermediary  be- 
tween the  two  Courts,  301 ;  alarmed 
at  Stahremberg's  daring  proposals, 
302 ;  and  suggests  a  compromise, 
302,  303 ;  remains  faithful  to  Ma- 
dame de  Pompadour  at  the  time  of 
the  Damiens's  affair,  312-315;  again 
endeavours  to  reconcile  the  mar- 
chioness and  d'Argenson,  317;  his 
explanation  of  the  disgrace  of 
d'Argenson,  320,  321 ;  becomes 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  330 ; 
tries  in  vain  to  repair  Richelieu's 
blunder  at  Kloster  -  Zeven,  338 ; 
protests  against  the  continued  em- 
ployment of  Soubise,  343 ;  .urges 
Madame  de  Pompadour  to  use  her 
influence  on  the  side  of  peace,  344- 
346 ;  and  appeals  to  the  King  and 
the  Council,  346,  347  ;  again  urges 
on  the  favourite  the  necessity  of 
peace,  353,  354;  his  instructions 
disregarded  by  the  Comte  de  Stain- 
ville,  French  Ambassador  at  Vienna, 
355'  356  j  convinced  that  his  dis- 
grace is  imminent,  358  ;  receives  a 
cardinal's  hat,  358-360;  dismissed 
from  office  and  exiled,  360-362 ; 
his  subsequent  career,  363 
(quoted),  230  note,  361,  389 

Berryer  (Lieutenant  of  Police),  ill,  112 
note,  118,  119,  120,  16S  note,  177, 
184,  372 

Besenval  (quoted),  318,  321,  332  note 

Binet  (valet-de-cha7nbre  to  the  Dauphin), 
31,  32,  41,  46,  47,  48,  87 

Binguet,  118,  119 

Biron,  Due  de,  no,  407  note 

Bissy,  Chevalier  de,  202 

Boileau,  Jacques,  268 


Boileau-Despreaux,  25 

Bolingbroke,  Lord,  32 

Bontemps,  Madame  (fortune-teller),  402 

Bouchardon  (sculptor),  379 

Boucher  (painter) 

his  work  at  the  Theatre  des  Petits 
Appartements,  100;  and  at  the 
Chateau  of  Bellevue,  150;  the  pro- 
tege and  friend  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  259 ;  his  portraits  of 
the  marchioness,  260,  261 

Boufflers,  Madame  de,  247 

Bouillon,  Due  de,  18 

Boulogne  (painter),  150 

Boulogne  (Comptroller-General),  368 

Bourbon,  Abbe  de  (Louis  XV. 's  son  by 
Madame  de  Romans),  392-398 

Bourbon,  Due  de,  72  note 

Bouret  (financier),  157,  182 

Bourgogne,  Due  de,  9  note 

Boyer,  Jean  Francois,  Bishop  of  Mire- 
poix,  35,  44,  47,  109,  241,  386 

Brancas,  Duchesse  de,  33  note,  87,  88, 
94,  202,  312 

Bridge    (equerry  to    Louis    XV.),   42, 
366  note 

Broglie,  Abbe  de,  1 16,  221  note 

Broglie,  Marechal  de,  373,  374 

Broglie,  Victor,  Due  de,  75 

Brunetti /(?/'^,  149 

Buffon,  247,  248 

Bussy-Ragotin,  375  note 

Cahusac  (dramatist),  25 

Camargo,  Mademoiselle  {danseuse),  347 

note 
Campan,   Madame    (quoted),    189,   392 

note 
Capefigue,  M.,  52,  209  note 
Carlyle,  Thomas   (quoted),   44,   75'  7^ 

note,  276,  371 
Carvalho  :  see  Pombal 
Casanova,  392  note 

(quoted),  40 
Castries,  Madame  de,  71 
Castries,  Marquis  de,  373 
Catharine  IL,  Empress  of  Russia,  378 
Cavanhac  (husband  of  Mademoiselle  de 

Romans),  397 
Champiost   {valet-de-chambre    of  Louis 

XV.),  412  note 
Charles  VII.,  King  of  France,  390 
Charles  XII.,  King  of  Sweden,  76  note, 

no 
Charles  Edward,  Prince,  109-III 
Chartres,   Due  de  :   see  Orleans,   Louis 

Philippe,  Due  d' 
Chartres,    Duchesse    de :    see   Orleans, 

Louise  Henriette,  Duchesse  d' 


\ 


4ii 


INDEX 


Chateauroux,  Duchesse  de 

prefers  the  Due  d'Agenois  to  her 
sovereign,  7  ;  but  accepts  the  King's 
addresses  on  discovering  the  duke's 
infidehty,  8  ;  insists  on  the  dismissal 
of  her  sister,  Madame  de  Mailly,  8  ; 
Sip]iomie.Adame dti palais and  created 
Duchesse  de  Chateauroux,  10  and 
note  ;  her  imperious  character,  10  ; 
determined  on  "the  resurrection  of 
a  King,"  10 ;  persuades  Louis  XV. 
to  take  command  of  the  army  in 
Flanders,  1 1 ;  and  follows  him  thither, 
1 1  and  note  ;  remains  by  his  bedside 
during  his  illness  at  Metz,  12;  but 
is  dismissed  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Bishop  of  Soissons,  13 ;  who  stirs  up 
the  populace  against  her,  14 ;  her 
flight  from  Metz,  14,  15  ;  recovers 
her  empire  over  the  royal  heart,  18  ; 
and  avenges  "  the  affront  of  Metz," 
18  ;  but  dies  suddenly,  18 

Chatelet,  Marquis  do,  120 

Chaulnes,  Due  de,  136,  185 

Chesterfield,   Lord  (quoted),  161   note, 
165  note,  2S5  note 

Chevert  (French  general),  367 

Chevreuse,  Duchesse  de,  30 

Choiseul,  Due  de 

betrays  Madame  de  Choiseul- Roma- 
net's  schemes  to  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, 200,  201  ;  appointed  P'rench 
Ambassador  at  the  Vatican,  201  ; 
persuades  Benedict  XIV.  to  promul- 
gate the  Bull  Ex  Omnibus,  355  ; 
transferred  to  Vienna,  355  ;  fails  to 
carry  out  Bernis's  instructions,  355, 
356  ;  and  encourages  the  war  party 
in  ."Vustria,  357  ;  recalled  to  Paris 
and  made  Due  de  Choiseul,  356,  357 ; 
anxious  for  the  disgrace  of  Bernis, 
357 ;  his  duplicity  towards  that 
Minister,  357  ;  becomes  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  364  ;  his  personal 
appearance  and  character,  364,  365  ; 
obtains  ascendency  over  the  other 
Ministers,  365  ;  suspected  of  being 
the  lover  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
365,  366  ;  treats  for  peace  with 
England,  but  without  result,  374, 
375  and  note;  concludes  the  Family 
Compact,  375-377;  and  the  Peace  of 
Paris,  378  ;  defeats  a  Jesuit  intrigue 
to  bring  about  his  disgrace,  385,  386; 
his  insolence  to  the  Dauphin,  386  ; 
co-operates  with  Madamede  Pompa- 
dour against  the  Jesuit  s,  386  ;  and  per- 
suades Louis  XV.  to  abandon  them, 
386;  becomes  all-powerful,  400,  401 


Choiseul,  Duchesse  de,  366  note,  401, 
,409 
Choiseul-Romanet,  Madame  de 

under  considerable  obligations  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  196  ;  per- 
suaded by  her  aunt,  Madame 
d'Estrades,  to  enter  the  lists  against 
the  favourite,  196  ;  refuses  to  be 
made  the  victim  of  an  ephemeral 
passion,  197  ;  and  obtains  Louis 
XV. 's  promise  that  Madame  de 
Pompadour  shall  be  dismissed,  198  ; 
sets  an  exalted  value  on  her  charms, 
199  ;  takes  counsel  with  her  cousin, 
the  Comte  de  Stainville,  199,  200  ; 
and  is  by  him  betrayed  to  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  200,  201  ;  her  fate, 
201,  202  and  note 

Churchill,  Arabella,  12  note 

Cideville,  244 

Clairon,  Mademoiselle  (actress),  374 

Clement  XIIL,  Pope,  388  and  note 
Cleopatre,  Marmontel's,  250 

Clermont,  Comte  de 

supersedes  Richelieu  in  command 
of  the  French  army  in  Western 
Germany,  347;  "knows  more  of 
boudoirs  and  green-rooms  than  of 
camps,"  347  and  note;  endeavours 
to  restore  discipline  in  his  army,  348 ; 
his  correspondence  with  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  348-350  ;  disgrace- 
fully beaten  at  Crefeld,  350,  351 
and  note  ;  his  letter  to  Louis  XV., 
351  ;  returns  to  Paris  and  is  lam- 
pooned, 351,  352 

Clive,  Lord,  368 

Cochin,  Charles  Nicolas,  the  younger, 
89  and  note,  160,  167,  403 

Coigny,  Comte  de,  96-99 

Coigny,  Due  de,  87 

Coislin,  Madame  de 

aspires  to  the  post  of  niaUresse-en- 
titre.  2S9  ;  a  source  of  disquietude 
to  Stahremberg,  289,  290 ;  and  to 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  291  ;  her 
insolence  to  the  marchioness,  291, 
292 ;  the  victim  of  an  ingenious 
little  plot,  291-293;  "shown  the 
door,"  293  and  note 

Colbert,  178 

Collin  (major-domo  of  Madame  de 
Pompadour),  140,  405,  40S  and 
note 

Conde,  Prince  de,  259 

Conflans,  Comte  de,  367 

Contades,  Marquis  de,  352,  367,  373 

Contes  moraux,  Marmontel's,  246,  249 
25s 


419 


INDEX 


Conti,  Prince  de 

finds  Madame  de  Pompadour's  bed 
an  excellent  substitute  for  an  arm- 
chair,  138;  conducts   Louis  XV. 's 
secret    diplomatic    correspondence, 
289 ;    continually  at    variance  with 
Madame     de     Pompadour,      289 ; 
champions   the   cause    of  Madame 
de    Coislin    against    the    favourite, 
289-294 ;    promised    the  command 
of  the   French    army   in    Western 
Germany,     331  ;    but    deprived    of 
it    through    the    influence    of    the 
marchioness,  332 
Corneille,  254,  255,  256 
Courtenvaux,  Marquis  de,  87,  93,  I45 
Crebillon,  Claude  de,  245  note 
Crebillon,  Prosper  de 

gives     Madame     de      Pompadour 
lessons  in   elocution,   22  ;  replaces 
Voltaire  in  her  good  graces,    244 ; 
his    Catilina   produced  under   her 
auspices,    245  ;    appointed  tutor  to 
Alexandrine    d'Etioles,     245 ;    his 
portrait  engraved  by  the  favourite, 
266 
Crecy,  Chateau  of,  141-144,  154,  174 
Crefeld,  Battle  of,  338,  350,  351,  353 
Croisy,  Marquis  de,  92 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  332-338 

Damiens,  Francois 

attempts  to  assassinate  Louis  XV., 
308,  309  ;  his  trial,  324,  325  ;   his 
terrible  punishment,  325,  326  ;  his 
family  banished  from  France,  326 
Damilaville,  244 
Dancourt,  92 
Danry  :  see  Latude 

Dauphin,  The  :  see  Louis  the  Dauphin 
Dauphiness,  The  :  see  Maria  Theresa, 

Infanta 
Dauphiness,  The  :    see  Marie  Josephe 

of  Saxony 
Daun,  Count,  388  note 
Deffand,  Madame  du,  325 
(quoted),  366  note,  404 
Dehesse,  94  note 
Demours  (oculist),  323 
Denis,  Madame,  280 
Desforges,  116 

Desmarets,  Father  (Louis  XV. 's  con- 
fessor), 237  and  note,  310,  313,  316, 
386,  389 
Destouches,       Chevalier      (father      of 

d'Alembert),  31  note 
Diderot,  120,  239  and  note,  251,  252 

(quoted),  377 
Dilke,  Lady  (quoted)  178  note,  258,  261 


Dombes,  Prince  de,  82,  87,  98,  99 
Drouais  (painter),  261 
Dubois,  Cardinal,  31  note,  32 
Dubois  (private  secretary  to  d'Argen- 

son),  198 
Duclos,  250,  294,  300,  337  note 
Dufort  (quoted),  412  note 
Dupaty,  President,  131 
Dupin  (financier),  248 
Dupin,  Madame,  248 
Dupleix,  136 
Duquesne,  286 
Durfort,  Abbe  de,  76 
Duras,  Due  de,  26,  76,  87,  92,  300 
Durini,  Cardinal,  116 

ifecoLE  DE  Mars,  278 
ifccole  Militaire,  270-273,  342,  415 
Elizabeth,  Empress  of  Russia,  307,  377 
Encyclojjc-die,  The,  191,  251,  252,  262 
Epinay,  Madame  d',  154,  412 
Esparbes,  Madame  d',  321,  410  note 
Estissac,  Marquis  d',  143 
Estrades,  Comtesse  d' 

one  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
sponsors  on  the  occasion  of  her  pre- 
sentation at  Court,  58  ;  a  frequent 
guest  at  the  petits  soupe7-s,  81  ; 
present  at  the  favourite's  intervievir 
with  Maurepas,  I12;  a  most  assi- 
duous flatterer  of  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour, 134  ;  obtains  the  post  of 
dame  dPatour  to  Mesdames,  134, 
135  ;  secretly  a  bitter  enemy  of  the 
favourite,  195  and  note  ;  conspires 
with  the  Comte  d'Argenson  to  pro- 
cure her  fall,  195,  196  ;  persuades 
her  niece,  Madame  de  Choiseul- 
Romanet,  to  enter  the  lists  against 
her,  196-199  ;  her  plot  fails,  200  ; 
renews  her  machinations,  204  ;  out- 
witted by  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
205,  206  ;  and  disgraced,  206 
Estrees,  Gabrielle  d',  240 
Estrees,  Marechal  d',  217  note,    332- 

335>  374 
Estrees,   Marechale  d',  217  and  note, 

333 
Eu,  Comte  d',  97 

Evreux,  Hotel  d',   146,  147  note,  180, 
404,  406  and  note 

Falconnet  (sculptor),  149 

Family  Compact,  The,  375-377 

Favart  (poet),  403 

Ferdinand,   Duke  of  Brunswick,   349, 

350,  367.  373 
Filleul,    Mademoiselle :    see   Marigny, 
Marquise  de 


420 


INDEX 


Flnck  (Prussian  general),  367 

Fitz-James,  Fraofois,   Bishop  of  Sois- 
sons,  12-14,  18 

Flavacourt,  Madame  de,  102 

Fleury,  Cardinal  de,   I,  2,  lO,  35,   55, 
75,  278,  365 

Fontanges,  Mademoiselle  de,  202 

Fontenelle,  31  note,  32 

Fontenoy,  Battle  of,  55 

Francois  I.,  King  of  France,  21  note, 
256 

Frederick  the  Great 

his  indiscreet  allusions  to  various 
eminent  personages,  279,  280 ;  his 
' ''  Je  ne  la  connais  pas  "  and  other 
delinquencies  arouse  the  enmity  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  280-282  ; 
concludes  Convention  of  West- 
minster with  England,  304 ;  shows 
the  Due  de  Nivernois  "  a  piece  of 
his  own  composition,"  304  ;  invades 
Saxony,  307 ;  defeats  Soubise  at 
Rossbach,  340,  341  ;  "  The  Attila 
of  the  North,"  346  ;  hard  pressed 
by  his  enemies,  367  ;  but  still  un- 
conquered,  373 ;  makes  peace  at 
Hubertsburg,  378 

Frires  de  la  Charlie,  The,  129 

Frey,  Father  (Jesuit),  3S4,  385 

Fronsac,  Due  de,  185 

Funck-Brentano,  M.,  127 

Gabriel,    Jacques   Ange    (architect), 

272  and  note 
Gace,  Comte  de,  104  note 
Galiani,  Abbe,  77 
Gaucher,    Mademoiselle    (mistress    of 

Lord  Albemarle),  286  and  note 
Gazette  de  France,  The  (quoted),  358, 

379 
George    II.,    King  of    England,    280, 

286,  287,  2S8,  375  note 
Gesvres,  Due  de,  153 
Goncourt,  Edmond  and  Jules  de,  216, 

390 

(quoted),  64,  67  note,  89,  262 
Gontaut,  Due  de,  409  and  note,  410 
Gotter,  Count,  300 
Gourbillon     (confidential     servant    of 

Madame  de  Pompadour),  117 
Grammont,  Comte  de  (quoted),  12  note 
Grammont,  Duchesse  de,  409  and  note 
Griffet,  Father  (Jesuit),  225,  226,  386 
Grimm,  154,  261 
Guay,  Jacques,  260,  265,  266 
Guerchy,  Comte  de,  90 
Guibaudet,  22 
Guimard  (confidential  servant  of  Louis 

XV.),  219,  221 


Hastenbeck,  Battle  of,  333,  345 
Hausset,   Madame  du,    140,   1S4,    190 

note,  195  note,  319,  321,  394,  402 
(quoted),  91,  174  note,  181,  218- 

220,   221   and  note,  222,    223,   283, 

341,  365,  395,  399  note,  410  note 
Hawke,  Admiral,  368 
Helvetius,  31  note 
Renault,  President,  25,  90,  412 
Hermitage   of   Compiegne,   The,    147, 

148,  169 
Hermitage  of  Fontainebleau,  The,  147, 

148 
Hermitage  of  Versailles,  The,  146,  147 
Hevin  (surgeon),  309 
Histoire  Naturelle,  Buffon's,  24S 
Hochkirch,  Battle  of,  356,  388  note 
Hubertsburg,  Peace  of,  378 
Flupot  (architect),  154 

Infante,  Madame  :  see  Louise  Eliza- 
beth, Duchess  of  Parma 
Isle,  d'  (architect),  142,  150 

Janelle  (Intendant  of  the  Post  Office), 

291  and  note,  292,  317-319,  41 1 
Jansenists,    The,    229  and   note,  324, 

384 
Jehotte,  22,  87 
Jesuits,  The,  8  note,  46,  65,  186,  203, 

226,  229,  230,   231,  233,  235,  241, 

249,  3S0-390,  414 
Joseph  I.,  King  of  Portugal,  381 
JuUien,  M.  Adolphe,  106  note 

Kaunitz-Rietberg,      Count      (after- 
wards Prince),  von 
his     character    and     eccentricities, 
276,  277  and  note ;    advocates    an 
alliance  with  France  against  Prussia, 
278  ;   goes  as  Austrian  Ambassador 
to     Paris,    278 ;     and    wins     over 
Madame  de  Pompadour  to  the  side 
of  Austria,     282,    283  ;    returns    to 
Vienna,  and  is  succeeded  by  Stah- 
remberg,    283 ;    his    letter    to    the 
favourite   preceding   the   arrival   of 
Maria  Theresa's  present,  295,  296  ; 
persuades  the  Empress  to  assent  to 
Bernis's      suggested      compromise, 
303  ;  his  letter  to  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour after  the  conclusion  of  the 
First  Treaty  of  Versailles,  306,  307  ; 
^_  his  letter  of  June  1757,  330,  331 
Kingston,  Duchess  of,  131 
Kinski,  Princesse  de,  366 
Kloster-Kampen,  Battle  of,  373 
Kloster-Zeven,     Convention    of,    337, 
338,  345 


421 


INDEX 


Knyphausen,  Baron  von,  281,  287 
Kollin,  Battle  of,  333 

Labbaty,  Madame,  58 

La  Celle,  Chateau  of,  115,  144,  145,  153 

Lachau-Montauban,  Madame  de,  58 

Lacretelle  (quoted),  214,  215,  351 

La    Fresnaye    (lover    of  Madame   de 

Tencin),  31  note 
La  Garde,  Abbe  de,  87 
La  Lande,  Madame  de,  134,  135 
La  Marck,  Comtesse  de,  189 
JJ Amour  et  PAfnitiS,   Pigalle's  statue 

of,  226  note,  259,  260,  261 
Landsmath     (contidential     servant     of 

Louis  XV.),  310-312 
Lang,  Mr.  Andrew,  256  note 
Langeron,  Marquis  de,  88,  143,  172 
La  Noiivelle  Helo'ise,  Rousseau's,  247 
La  Poplini^re,   Madame  de,    102,   103 

and  note,  139 
La   Prmcesse  de   Navarre,  Voltaire's, 

241,  242 
La  Piicelle,  Voltaire's,  243  and  note 
La  Rochefoucauld,  Due  de,  18 
La   Salle,   Marquis   de,  88   and   note, 

133 

La   Savonnerie,    Manufactory   of,    150 
note 

L' Assurance  (architect),  142,  148 

La  Tour  (painter),  90,    168,   262-265, 
380 

La  Tournelle,  Madame  de :  see  Chateau- 
roux,  Duchesse  de 

Latude 

his  early  life,  1 16;  his  impudent 
attempt  to  impose  upon  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  117,  118;  im- 
prisoned in  the  Bastille,  118,  119; 
removed  to  Vincennes,  120;  his 
letter  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
120,  121  ;  escapes  from  Vincennes, 
121  ;  recaptured  and  again  confined 
in  the  Bastille,  121,  122;  his  escape 
in  company  with  Allegre,  123,  124  ; 
recaptured  at  Amsterdam,  124  ;  his 
extraordinary  behaviour  in  prison, 
124-127  ;  sent  a  second  time  to 
Vincennes,  127;  becomes  "Henri 
Masers  de  Latude,"  128;  again 
escapes  from  Vincennes,  and  again 
recaptured,  1 28,  129;  believed  to  be 
insane,  and  transferred  to  Charen- 
ton,  129;  set  at  liberty,  129;  once 
more  imprisoned,  130;  finally  re- 
leased, 130,  131  ;  apotheosized  at 
the  Revolution,  131  ;  his  successful 
action  against  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's heirs,  131  ;  his  death,  132 


Lauraguais,  Madame  de,  7,  8,   11,  13 

14,  15 
La  Vallette,  Father  (Jesuit),  382-3S5, 

387 
La  Valliere,  Due  de,  87,  103,  104,  106 

note,  180,  252,  253 
La  Valliere,  Mademoiselle  de,  9,  226, 

254 
La  Vauguyon,  Due  de,  385 
Law,  John,  20 
Lebel  (Louis  XV. 's  valet-de-chambre), 

216,  221  and  note,  223,  293 
Le  Blanc,  Abb6,  160,  165,  251 
Le  Blanc,  Claude,  21 
Lebon,  Madame  (fortune-teller),  26,  27, 

401  and  note 
Leczinska,  Marie,  Queen  of  France :  see 

Marie  Leczinska 
Leczinska,      Stanislas,      ex  -  King     of 

Poland  :  see  Stanislas  Leczinska 
Le  Devin  du  Village,  Rousseau's,  106, 

247,  248 
Le  Due  {danseuse),  Mademoiselle,  347 

note 
Lefevre,  405 
Legros,  Madame,  130 
Lekain  (actor),  250  note 
n Enfant frodigue,  Voltaire's,  95 
Lemeri,  Father  (Jesuit),  8  note 
Lemoine  (sculptor),  245 
Lenormant      d'Etioles,       Alexandrine 
(daughter  of  Madame  de    Pom- 
padour) 
educated  at  the  Convent  de  I'As- 
somption,  183;  her  arrogance,  183; 
destined  by  Madame  de  Pompadour 
to  make  a  great  marriage,  184,  185; 
her     sudden    death,    186;     buried 
in   the   Church   of  the   Capuchins, 
1S6 
Lenormant    d'Etioles,    Charles    Guil- 
laume  (husband  of   Madame    de 
Pompadour) 
his   personal   appearance,   23 ;    his 
father    refuses    his    sanction    to   his 
marriage  with  Mademoiselle  Poisson, 
24 ;    but   eventually   consents,  24 ; 
worships  his  wife,  26 ;    his  despair 
on  learning  of  her   infidelity,    49 ; 
his  letter  entreating  her  to   return 
to  him,  49,  50 ;    sent  to  Provence, 
50;    falls  ill  at  Avignon,  50;  finds 
himself  in  an  embarrassing  situation, 
51,    52;   judicially   separated    from 
his  wife.  52  ;    his  subsequent  rela- 
tions with  her,  52  ;  his  liaison  with 
Mademoiselle  Rem,  171  note;    his 
reply  to  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
offer  to  return  to  him,  231-233 


422 


INDEX 


Lenormant    d'Etioles,    Madame :     see 

Pompadour,  Marquise  da 
Lenormant    de    Tournehem,    Franjois 
Paul 
generally  believed  to  be  the  father 
of    Madame    de    Pompadour,    21  ; 
pays    for   her   education,    22 ;    and 
arranges    her    marriage    with    his 
nephew,   M.   Lenormant   d'Etioles, 
24  ;    has  a  theatre  built  for  her  at 
Etioles,    25  ;    commissioned    to    in- 
form    M.    d'Etioles    of    his    wife's 
infidelity,   50;  appointed  Director- 
General  of  the  Board  of  Works,  73; 
wishes  to  resign  in  favour  of  Abel 
Poisson,   174;   in  bad  health,    175, 
176;  dies,  177 
Leonci  and  Goutfre,The  firm  of,  383, 384 
Le  Roi,  M.,   136  note,  209,  212,  213 
and  note,  215 
(quoted),  213 
Leroy,  Georges  (quoted),  22 
Le  rose  Pompadour,  268 
Les     FunerMlles    de     Sesostris,    Mar- 

montel's,  139,  250 
n Esprit  des   Lois,    Montesquieu,    25, 

248,  262,  263 
Lettres  sur  les  Aveugles,  Diderot's,  120 
Le  Temple  de  la  Gloire,  Voltaire's,  242 
Leuthen,  Battle  of,  355 
Eigne,  Prince  de  (quoted),  81  note 
Livre  Rouge,  The,  106  note 
Loo,  Carle  van  (painter),  149,  261,  262 
Louis  XIIL,  King  of  France,  209 
Louis  XIV.,  King  of  France,   8  note, 
74,  n,  98,  I37>  188,  236,  328,  338, 
393.  396 
Louis  XV.,  King  of  France 

his  feeble  character  the  result 
of  his  effeminate  education,  1,2; 
his  indifference  to  affairs  of  State, 
2,  3 ;  his  marriage  with  Marie 
Leczinska,  3  ;  his  liaison  with  the 
four  sisters  De  Nesle,  4-10 ;  per- 
suaded by  Madame  de  Chateauroux 
to  take  command  of  the  army  in 
Flanders,  11  ;  falls  dangerously  ill 
at  Metz,  1 1  ;  dismisses  Madame  de 
Chateauroux,  13;  recovers,  16; 
and  recalls  her  to  Court,  17  ;  his 
personal  appearance,  40  and  note ; 
his  meeting  with  Madame  d'J^tioles 
at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  ball,  41  ;  his 
conversation  with  Binet,  the  valet-de- 
chambre,  41,  42  ;  sups  tete-a-tete 
with  Madame  d'Etioles,  42  ;  appar- 
ently indisposed  to  continue  the 
acquaintance,  42 ;  indignant  at  the 
interference  of  the  Bishop  of  Mire- 


Louis  XV.,  King  of  France — continued 
poix  in  his  love  affairs,  47  ;  invites 
Madame   d'Etioles   a   second    time 
to  Versailles,  48  ;  and  succumbs  to 
her    charms,    49 ;    his    remark    on 
reading  M.  d'Etioles's  letter   to  his 
wife,    50,    51;    joins   the   army   in 
Flanders,     51  ;     corresponds     with 
Madame  d'Etioles,  56  ;  creates  her 
Marquise   de    Pompadour,    56   and 
note ;    returns    to    France,    57 ;  his 
reception    of    his    mistress   on    the 
occasion     of    her    presentation    at 
Court,  59 ;  his  attention  to  her  at 
Fontainebleau,  60,    61  ;   treats    the 
Queen  with  more  consideration  than 
formerly,  68;  his  New  Year's  gift  to 
her    in    1746,    68   note;    dismisses 
Orry,  the  Comptroller-General,  73  ; 
and      the      Marquis      d'Argenson, 
Minister   for    Foreign    Affairs,    75  ; 
the  most  ennuye  of  monarchs,  77 ; 
secret  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
influence   over   him,    78-83 ;    inter- 
venes    in     the     quarrel      between 
Richelieu   and   the   favourite,   104 ; 
disgraces  Maurepas  at  the  instance 
of     the     marchioness,     1 15;    visits 
Madame  de   Pompadour  at  Crecy, 
145;    and    at    La    Celle,    145;    his 
first   visit   to    Bellevue,    151,    152; 
ennobles  M.  Poisson,  the  favourite's 
father,  158;  and  presents  him  with 
the    seigneurie    of    Marigny,     59 ! 
creates    her    brother     Marquis    de 
Vandieres,    159;    meets    with    "an 
alarming  fall,"  176;  his  overtures  to 
the  Comtesse  de  Perigord  rejected, 
189  note;  his  liaison  with  Madame 
de    Choiseul  -  Romanet,    197-201 ; 
disgraces  Madame  d'Estrades,  206, 
207  ;    purchases    a    house    in    the 
Parc-aux-Cerfs    through     a     secret 
agent,  211-213;  his  liaison  with  la 
petite  Morfil,   215-217  ;    visits    the 
Parc-aux-Cerfs  under  an  incognito, 
218;  entrusts  Madame  du  Hausset 
with  a   delicate   mission,   218-223; 
his     relations     with    Madame     de 
Pompadour   become   platonic,  226 ; 
compels  the  Queen  to  appoint  the 
marchioness  a  da7ne  dupalais,  234; 
vetoes     Pirou's     election      to     the 
Academy,  253  ;  orders  the  Encyclo- 
pedie  to  be  brought  in  at  a  supper 
party  at   Trianon,   253  ;   patronises 
the  painter  Boucher,   259 ;  encour- 
ages the  manufacture  of  porcelain, 
267,   26S  ;   consents  to   the   estab- 


423 


INDEX 


Louis  XV.,  King  of  France — continued 
lishment  of  the  Ecole  Militaire,  270; 
his  liaison  with  Madame  de  Coislin, 
289-293 ;  resents  Frederick  the 
Great's  bon-?nots  at  his  expense, 
299 ;  ' '  dreams  of  a  holy  war,"  299 ; 
indignant  at  the  Convention  of 
Westminster,  304 ;  his  attempted 
assassination  by  Damiens,  308,  309; 
behaves  as  if  mortally  wounded, 
310;  consents  to  the  dismissal  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  316;  but 
recovers  and  restores  her  to  favour, 
319,  320;  exiles  Machault  and 
d'Argenson,  320-322 ;  bestows  a 
pension  on  the  family  of  Damiens, 
326  ;  his  kindness  to  Soubise  after 
his  defeat  at  Rossbach,  341,  342; 
exiles  Bernis,  360-362  ;  appoints 
Silhouette  Comptroller  -  General, 
368 ;  sends  the  royal  plate  to  the 
mint,  370  ;  dismisses  Silhouette, 
372 ;  his  statue  by  Bouchardon, 
379,  380 ;  appoints  an  ecclesiastical 
commission  to  report  upon  the 
Jesuit  Constitutions,  388 ;  sup- 
presses the  Jesuits  in  France,  389 ; 
his  liaison  with  Mademoiselle  de 
Romans,  391-397;  regards  Madame 
de  Pompadour  as  the  cause  of  the 
humiliation  of  France,  400 ;  his 
attentions  to  the  marchioness  during 
her  last  illness,  403 ;  desires  to  see 
her  reconciled  to  God,  404;  his 
conduct  at  her  death,  411,  412  and 
note 

Louis  XVL,  King  of  France,  147,  197 

Louis    XVIIL,  King  of  France:    see 
Provence,  Comte  de 

Louis,  Dauphin  of  France  (son  of  Louis 
XV.) 
his  marriage  with  the  Infanta  Maria 
Theresa,  32-36;  present  at  the 
H6tel  de  Ville  ball,  37 ;  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  Jesuits,  46 ;  his 
reception  of  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour on  the  occasion  of  her  pre- 
sentation at  Court,  60;  his  antipathy 
to  the  marchioness,  65 ;  marries 
Marie  Josephe  of  Saxony,  en 
secondes  noces,  74 ;  protests  against 
the  Young  Pretender's  expulsion 
from  France,  1 1 1 ;  shocked  at  the 
leniency  of  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour's confessor,  230;  an  innocent 
party  to  the  Jesuit  conspiracy  against 
Choiseul,  385,  386;  vainly  en- 
deavours to  protect  the  Jesuits, 
388 


Louise,   Madame  (daughter   of   Louis 

XV.),  171,  359 
Louise   Elizabeth,    Duchess   of  Parma 

(daughter  of  Louis   XV.),   164,  258 

and  note,  322,  359 
Lowendal,  Marechal,  180 
Lutternberg,  Battle  of,  367 
Lutzelbourg,    Madame    de,     151,    339 

note,  342 
Luynes,   Due  de  (quoted),  33-36,  48, 

50,  60,   80   note,  93,  99,   115,  229, 

232  note,  269 
Luynes,  Duchesse  de,  69,  234,  269 

(quoted),  142 
Luxembourg,  Due  de,  97,  143 

Macaulay,  Lord  (quoted),  275 

Machault,  Jean  Baptiste  de 

succeeds  Orry  as  Comptroller- 
General,  73  ;  takes  the  side  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour  against 
d'Argenson,  194;  and  is  made  Keeper 
of  the  Seals,  194 ;  urges  that  hos- 
tilities against  England  should  be 
confined  to  the  sea,  288 ;  opposed 
to  the  First  Treaty  of  Versailles, 
304;  deserts  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour at  the  time  of  the  Damiens's 
affair,  313,  314;  brings  the  mar- 
chioness an  order  from  Louis  XV. 
to  retire  from  Court,  314,  315; 
probable  explanation  of  his  conduct, 
316,  317  ;  dismissed  and  exiled, 
320-323  ;  his  death,  323 

Mahomet,  Voltaire's,  241,  243 

Mahon,    Lord :    see    Stanhope,    Philip 
Henry,  Earl 

Maillebois,  Comte  de,  87,  92,  333 

Mailly,  Comtesse  de 

her  liaison  with  Louis  XV.,  4;  her 
amiable  character,  4,  5 ;  becomes 
maitresse  declarie,  6;  supplanted  by 
her  sister  Madame  de  la  Tournelle, 
8;  and  ordered  to  retire  from  Court, 
8  ;  seeks  consolation  in  religion  and 
good  works,  9  ;  insult  offered  to  her 
at  Saint-Roch,  9  note  ;  enraptured 
with  Madame  d'Etioles's  playing  on 
the  harpsichord,  25 

Maine,  Due  du,  93,  393 

Malesherbes,  129,  239,  247 

Mandrin,  371 

Mantz,  M.  (quoted),  259 

Marchais,  Madame  de,  87 

Maria  Theresa,  Empress  of  Austria 
dissatisfied  with   the    terms    of  the 
Peace     of     Aix-la-Chapelle,     275 ; 
resolved     on     the     humiliation     of 
Prussia,    275,   276;    sends  Kaunitz 


424 


INDEX 


Marie  Theresa,  Empress  of  Austria — 
continued 
as  Ambassador  to  Paris,  278;  her 
relations  with  Madame  de  Pompa- 
dour, 293-298 ;  more  determined 
than  ever  on  crushing  Frederick, 
356 ;  her  overtures  for  a  renewal 
of  the  alliance  against  Prussia  re- 
jected by  the  Czarina  Catharine  II., 
378;  makes  peace  at  Hubertsburg, 
378 
Maria  Theresa,  Infanta,  Dauphiness  of 

France,  18,  33-36,  45,  47 
Marie  Josephe  of  Saxony,  Dauphiness 

of  France,  74,  169,  170,  175,  359 
Marie  Leczinska,  Queen  of  France 
marries  Louis  XV.,  3;  gradually 
alienates  the  affection  of  her  hus- 
band, 4;  rupture  between  her  and 
the  King,  5 ;  joins  Louis  at  Metz 
during  his  illness,  17  ;  her  reception 
of  Madame  de  Pompadour  on  the 
occasion  of  her  presentation  at 
Court,  59,  60;  receives  a  New 
Year's  gift  from  the  King,  68  note ; 
treats  Madame  de  Pompadour  with 
courtesy,  68,  69 ;  but  declines  to 
allow  her  to  officiate  as  a  queteuse 
at  Easter,  70,  71 ;  attends  the  per- 
formance oi  Erigone  at  the  Theatre 
des  Petits  Appartements,  93 ;  her 
affection  for  Maurepas,  1 13;  refuses 
to  nominate  Madame  de  Pompadour 
dame  du  palais,  231 ;  but  reluc- 
tantly consents  in  deference  to  the 
King's  wishes,  233 ;  obtains  the 
confiscation  of  a  parody  of  Voltaire's 
S^miramis,  249  note ;  vainly  en- 
deavours to  protect  the  Jesuits,  38S; 
her  letter  to  President  Uenault  at 
the  time  of  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
death,  412 
Marigny,  Marquis  de  (brother  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour) 
his  birth,  22 ;  created  Marquis  de 
Vandieres,  1 59 ;  his  amiable  char- 
acter, 159;  starts  on  a  tour  in  Italy, 
160 ;  Madame  de  Pompadour's 
letters  to  him  during  his  absence 
from  France,  160-177;  appointed 
Director-General  of  the  Board  of 
Works,  177  ;  his  encouragement  of 
the  arts,  178  ;  his  undeserved  un- 
popularity, 178;  created  Marquis 
de  Marigny,  179;  his  remarkable 
sensitiveness  to  his  sister's  position, 
180,  181 ;  declines  to  please  her  by 
making  a  great  marriage,  180-182; 
marries  Mademoiselle  Filleul,  182; 


Marigny,  Marquis  de  (brother  of  Ma- 
dame de  Pompadour) — continued 
his     extraordinary     jealousy,     182, 
183 ;  his   wife   leaves   him   for   the 
Cardinal  de  Rohan,  180  ;  his  death, 
183 
Marigny,  Marquise  de,  182,  183 
Marivaux,  31  note 
Marmontel,  Jean  Francois 

contributes  his  Contes  nioraux  to  the 
Mercure,  246 ;  his  early  struggles 
after  literary  fame,  249,  250;  be- 
comes the  protege  of  RIadame  de 
Pompadour,  250;  the  most  unfor- 
tunate of  playwrights,  250  and 
note  ;  elected  to  the  Academy, 
251 

(quoted),  67,  139,  179,   182,   19s, 
198,  285,  286 
Martin,  Commodore,  376 
Martin,  Henri  (quoted),  10,299,  SO')  339 
Martini^re  (surgeon),  309 
Massillon,  9,  255 
Maupertuis,  25 
Maurepas,  Comte  de 

charged  with    the    letter    recalling 
Madame  de  Chateauroux  to  Court, 
18  and  note  ;  his  character  described 
by   Marmontel,   67 ;   hostile   to  all 
Louis    XV.'s  mistresses,    67   note; 
endeavours    to    cast    ridicule   upon 
Madame  de  Pompadour,   67 ;  sus- 
pected  of  being   the  author  of  an 
atrocious  quatrain  at  her  expense, 
112  and   note;  his  interview  with 
the  favourite,  1 12,  I13;  his  conver- 
sation   with    Marechal   de    Villars, 
113;  violent  scene  between  him  and 
the  marchioness,  113,  1 14;  her  ruse 
to  get  rid  of  him,  114  ;  dismissed 
from  office  and  exiled,  115 
Mazarin,  Cardinal,  66,  240,  278 
Mazarinades,  The,  66 
Melfort,  Comte  de,  88 
Menars,  Marquisate  of,  153,   154,  408 

and  note 
Minden,  Battle  of,  367 
Mirepoix,  Bishop  of :  see  Boyer,  Jean 

Fran9ois 
Mirepoix,  Marechal  de,  81  note,  285 
Mirepoix,  Marechale  de,  81   and  note, 
266,  285,  312,  315,  366  note,  395,  396, 
409 
Moliere,  25,  92 
Moncerveau  (surgeon),  16,  17 
Moncrif,  87 
Mondonville,  188 

Montespan,  Madame  de,  98,   137,  226, 
236  note,  347  note 


425 


INDEX 


Montesquieu,  25,  248 

Montmorency,  Baron  de,  133,  134 

Moras,  Comte  de,  329 

Moreau  de  Sechelles,  116 

Morley,  Mr.  John,  239  note 

Murphy,  Mademoiselle 

the  first  inmate  of  the  Parc-aux- 
Cerfs,  215,  216;  the  object  of  very 
marked  attentions  on  the  part  of 
Louis  XV,,  216;  encouraged  by 
Madame  d'Estrees  to  endeavour  to 
supplant  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
216,  217 ;  dismissed  and  provided 
with  a  husband,  217  and  note 

Napoleon  I.,  Emperor,  76  note,  143, 

273>  415 
Nattier  (painter),  258,  262 
Nesle,  Marquis  de,  4 
Nesle,    Pauline    de  :     see    Vintimille, 

Marquise  de 
Nesle,  The  sisters  De,  4,  102 
Nivernois,  Due  de,  26,  85,  87,  165  and 

note,  252,  304 
Nivernois,  Duchesse  de,  165  and  note 
Noailles,  Due  de,  11,  74 
Notrelle  (perruquier),  89  and  note,  96 

Orleans,     Louis,    Due    d',    12,   87, 

324  and  note 
Orleans,    Louise   Henriette,    Duchesse 

d',  88,  413 
Orleans,  Louis  Philippe,  Ducd',  12,  16, 

87,  143,  368,  413 
Orleans,  The  Regent,  31  note,  32,  72 

note 
Orry,  Comte  de  Vignori,  17,  72,   73, 

108,  192,  193,  249,  251 
Oudry  (painter),  149 

Parc-aux-Cerfs,  The,  209-224,  235 
note,  293,  299,  391,  392,  397 

Paris,  Antoine,  72  note 

Paris,  Claude,  72  note 

Paris  de  Montmartel,  72  note,  157 

Paris-Duverney,  72  note,  270-272,  339 

Paris,  Brothers,  72  and  note,  73,  74, 
75.  76,  77,  203 

Paris,  Peace  of,  378,  380,  402 

Patu  (notary),  213 

Paulmy,  Marquis  de,  329,  333,  335,  349 

Pavillo7i  de  Hanovre,  The,  335 

Penthi^vre,  Due  de,  33 

Perigord,  Comtesse  de,  189  and  note 

Perot  (painter),  88 

Perrier,  161,  162 

Perronet,  88 

P(^russeau,  Father  (Louis  XV. 's  con- 
fessor), 13,  18,  235,  237  and  note 


I'igalle  (sculptor),  150,  226  note,  259, 
.260,  379,  380 

Piron  (poet),  45,  251 

Pitt,  William  (afterwards  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham), 345,  375  note,  377,  401,  413 

Poisson,  Abel  Fran9ois  (brother  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour)  :  see 
Marigny,  Marquis  de 

Poisson,  Fran9ois  (father  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour) 
a  singularly  undesirable  acquaint- 
ance, 21  ;  condemned  to  the  wheel, 
and  flies  from  France,  22  ;  his  sen- 
tence reversed,  "thanks  to  the  tears 
and  smiles  of  his  wife  and  daughter," 
22  ;  approves  of  his  daughter's  mar- 
riage with  M.  Lenormant  d'Etioles, 
23 ;  his  drunkenness  a  by-word 
among  the  Parisians,  65 ;  a  sore 
trial  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
156,  157;  nevertheless  on  affec- 
tionate terms  with  her,  157,  158 ; 
ennobled,  158  ;  and  presented  by 
Louis  XV.  with  the  seigneurie  of 
Marigny,  159;  dies  of  dropsy,  159; 
"  truly  an  astonishing  person,"  171 

Poisson,  Jeanne  Antoinette  :  see  Pom- 
padour, Marquise  de 

Poisson,  Madame  (mother  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour) 
a  lady  of  medium  virtue,  21  ;  deter- 
mines to  speculate  in  her  daughter's 
charms,  26  ;  her  visit  to  Madame 
Lebon,  the  fortune-teller,  26,  27  ; 
educates  Antoinette  for  the  post  of 
mattresse-en-iitre,  27  ;  her  death,  61 

Poissonades,  The,  66,  67,  in,  115,  149 

Poisson  de  Malvoisin,  406  and  note,  408 

Pombal,  Marquis  de,  381 

Pompadour,  Marquise  de 

her  birth  and  parentage,  21 ;  her 
education,  22 ;  her  accomplish- 
ments, 23  ;  her  beauty,  23  ;  marries 
M.  Lenormant  d'Etioles,  24 ;  her 
house  a  rendezvous  for  men  of 
letters,  24,  25  ;  her  social  triumphs, 
25,  26 ;  resolved  to  become  the  mis- 
tress of  Louis  XV. ,  26-28 ;  attends  the 
royal  hunting-parties  in  the  Forest  of 
Senart,  29,  30;  arouses  the  jealousy 
of  Madame  de  Chateauroux,  30 ;  her 
allies,  Binet  and  Madame  de  Tencin, 
31  andnote,  32;  encounterwith  Louis 
XV.  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  ball,  39- 
41  ;  her  first  visit  to  Versailles,  42  ; 
in  suspense,  42,  43 ;  her  schemes 
furthered  by  the  hostility  of  the 
Bishop  of  Mirepoix,  44-47  ;  second 
visit  to  Versailles,  48 ;   determines 


426 


INDEX 


Pompadour,  Marquise  de — cojitimicd 
to  put  her  fate  to  the  touch,  49 ; 
and  triumphs,  49 ;  ignores  her  hus- 
band's appeal  to  return  to  him,  49, 
50 ;  judicially  separated  from  her 
husband,  52  ;  her  subsequent  rela- 
tions with  him,  52  ;  declines  to  ac- 
company Louis  XV.  in  the  campaign 
of  Fontenoy,  53  ;  and  spends  the 
time  of  his  absence  at  Etioles,  53  ; 
flattered  by  Voltaire,  55  ;  her  cor- 
respondence with  the  King,  5^ ! 
created  Marquise  de  Pompadour, 
56  and  note;  her  presentation  at 
Court,  Sl~^'^  >  accompanies  the 
Court  to  Choisy,  60;  and  to  Fon- 
tainebleau,  60 ;  her  grief  at  her 
mother's  death,  61  ;  her  life  at 
Fontainebleau,  6l,  62  ;  her  installa- 
tion at  Versailles  arouses  the  most 
bitter  hostility,  63-67 ;  resolves  to 
form  a  party  of  her  own,  67,  68  ; 
succeeds  in  conciliating  the  Queen, 
68-71  ;  concludes  an  alliance  with 
the  brothers  Paris,  71,  72  and  note; 
and  procures  the  dismissal  of  Orry 
and  the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  72- 
75 ;  wins  over  Saint-Severin  and 
Belle-Isle,  75'  76  and  note ;  her 
relations  with  Louis  XV.,  77  5  her 
skill  in  amusing  the  King  the  secret 
of  her  influence  over  him,  77-79  ; 
encourages  him  to  neglect  the  duties 
of  sovereignty,  79,  80  ;  her  petits 
soupers,  80-82 ;  visits  Havre  in 
company  with  the  King,  82,  83  ; 
establishes  the  Theatre  des  Petits 
Appartements,  84-90 ;  plays  Col- 
lette  in  Les  Trois  Cousines,  93 ;  her 
success  as  an  actress,  93,  94  ;  plays 
the  title-part  in  Isniene,  95  ;  and  in 
Almasis,  99  ;  causes  a  new  theatre 
to  be  constructed,  99,  100;  her  cos- 
tumes as  Urania  and  Venus,  1 00, 
lOi ;  antagonism  between  her  and 
the  Due  de  Richelieu,  102,  103  ; 
who  endeavours  to  interfere  with 
the  performances,  103-105  ;  recon- 
ciled to  the  duke,  105  ;  plays  Colin 
in  Rousseau's  Le  Devin  du  Village 
at  Bellevue,  106,  107 ;  her  power 
increasing,  108  ;  animosity  between 
her  and  Maurepas,  109-111;  dis- 
covers an  atrocious  quatrain  under 
her  serviette  at  Marly,  112;  her 
interview  with  Maurepas,  112,  113; 
declares  that  the  Minister  intends 
to  poison  her,  114;  and  procures 
his  disgrace,  1 1 5  ;  L affaire  Latude, 


Pompadour,  Marquise  de — continued 
1 16-132;  her  influence  extending 
to  every  department  of  the  State, 
I33>  134;  abuses  her  patronage, 
134-137  ;  insists  on  being  treated 
en  souveraine  in  her  apartments, 
137,  138 ;  her  toilette  a  Court 
function,  138-140 ;  her  household 
at  Versailles,  140,  141  ;  her  passion 
for  building  and  acquiring  landed 
property,  141;  her  estate  of  Crecy, 
141-144;  her  chateau  of  La  Celle, 
144,  145  ;  her  Hermitage  at  Ver- 
sailles, 146 ;  purchases  the  Hotel 
d'llvreux  in  Paris,  146,  147  ;  her 
Hermitages  at  Fontainebleau  and 
Compi^gne,  147,  148  ;  her  chateau 
of  Bellevue,  148-153 ;  her  other 
properties,  153,  154;  her  affection 
for  her  relatives,  155,  156;  her 
kindness  to  her  father,  157-159; 
her  letters  to  her  brother  during  his 
tour  in  Italy,  160-177 ;  ambitious  for 
his  advancement,  1 78-1  So;  tries  in 
vain  to  induce  him  to  make  a  great 
marriage,  180-182  ;  her  matrimonial 
prospects  in  regard  to  her  daughter, 
Alexandrine  d'£tioles,  184-185;  her 
grief  at  the  child's  sudden  death, 
1S6;  insecurity  of  her  position,  189, 
190;  enmity  between  her  and  the 
Comte  d'Argenson,  190-192;  deter- 
mined on  his  ruin,  193;  wins  over 
Machault,  the  Comptroller-General, 
to  her  side,  194  ;  betrayed  by  her 
confidante,  Madame  d'Estrades,  195, 
196 ;  defeats  the  conspiracy  of 
d'Argenson  and  Madame  d'Estrades 
to  supplant  her  by  Madame  de 
Choiseul  -  Romanet,  196-202  ;  her 
position  again  seriously  threatened, 
202-204 ;  procures  the  disgrace  of 
Madame  d'Estrades,  204-206 ;  her 
connection  with  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs, 
217-224;  her  relations  with  Louis 
XV.  become  platonic,  226-228 ; 
desires  to  be  reconciled  to  the 
Church,  228;  her  edifying  behaviour, 
228,  229 ;  ordered  by  her  confessor 
to  return  to  her  husband,  230 ;  re- 
fused the  post  of  dame  du  palais  by 
the  Queen,  231  ;  writes  to  her  hus- 
band entreating  him  to  take  her 
back,  231,  232;  and  at  the  same 
time  instructs  him  to  refuse  her 
request,  232  and  note  ;  succeeds  in 
obtaining  absolution,  233,  234 ;  and 
the  post  of  dame  du  falais,  234; 
her  letter  to  Pope  Benedict  XIV., 


427 


INDEX 


Pompadour,  Marquise  de — continued 
234-237 ;  her  patronage  and  pro- 
tection of  men  of  letters,  238-240; 
her  relations  with  Voltaire,  240-244 ; 
with  Crebillon  pe^-e,  244,  245;  with 
Louis  de  Boissy,  245,  246 ;  with 
Rousseau,  246,  247 ;  with  Buffon, 
247,  248;  with  Montesquieu,  248, 
249;  with  Marmontel,  249,  251; 
with  the  Abbe  Le  Blanc  and  Piron, 
251;  with  Duclos,  251;  and  with 
Diderot  and  d'Alembert,  251,252; 
her  admiration  for  the  Encyclopidie, 
253 ;  her  library,  254-256 ;  orders 
an  edition  of  Corneille's  Rodogune  to 
be  printed  for  her,  256 ;  her  patronage 
of  art,  257,  258;  her  relations  with 
Boucher,  258,  259;  with  Pigalle,  259, 
260;  and  with  Jacques  Guay,  260;  her 
portraits  by  different  masters,  260- 
262 ;  her  pastel  by  La  Tour,  262- 
265 ;  her  engravings  in  the  Biblio- 
th^que  Nationale,  265,  266 ;  encour- 
ages the  manufacture  of  porcelain  in 
France,  266,  267  ;  creates  the  manu- 
factory of  Sevres,  267-270;  estab- 
lishes the  Ecole  Militaire,  270-273  ; 
reasons  for  her  hatred  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  280-282 ;  favours  the 
designs  of  Kaunitz,  282-284  >  her 
position  threatened  by  Madame  de 
Coislin,  289-291  ;  outwits  her  rival, 
291-293 ;  her  relations  with  the 
Empress  Maria  Theresa,  293,  294 ; 
receives  a  present  of  a  lacquer 
escritoire  from  the  Empress,  294, 
295  and  note ;  her  letters  to  Kau- 
nitz and  Maria  Theresa  in  acknow- 
ledgment, 296-298 ;  induces  Louis 
XV.  to  treat  with  Austria,  299 ; 
confers  with  Bernis  and  Stahremberg 
at  Babiole,  301 ;  the  P'irst  Treaty  of 
Versailles  her  work,  305  ;  Kaunitz's 
letter  to  her,  306,  307;  her  critical 
position  after  the  attempted  assas- 
sination of  Louis  XV.  by  Damiens, 
312-314;  receives  an  order  from  the 
King  to  retire  from  Court,  314,  315; 
but  remains  on  the  advice  of  the 
Mar^chale  de  Mirepoix,  315;  and 
reasserts  her  influence  on  Louis's 
recovery,  316;  permits  Bernis  to 
propose  a  reconciliation  to  the 
Comte  d'Argenson,  317  ;  her  stormy 
interview  with  her  enemy,  318,  319; 
procures  the  disgrace  of  d'Argenson 
and  Machault,  319-322;  persuades 
the  Ministry  to  conclude  the  Second 
Treaty  of  Versailles,    328 ;    makes 

428 


Pompadour,  Marquise  de — continued 
Bernis  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
330;  receives  a  flattering  letter  from 
Kaunitz,  330;  refuses  to  allow  the 
Prince  de  Conti  to  command  the 
French  army  in  Western  Germany, 
331,  332 ;  causes  d'Estrees  to  be 
recalled,  333 ;  and  Soubise  to  be 
sent  into  Saxony,  334;  indignation 
of  the  Parisians  against  her  after 
the  defeat  of  Soubise  at  Rossbach, 
341 ;  refuses  to  allow  him  to  resign 
his  command,  342 ;  strongly  urged 
by  Bernis  to  use  her  influence  on 
the  side  of  peace,  344,  345 ;  but 
resolved  to  "  crush  the  Attila  of  the 
North,"  346 ;  her  correspondence 
with  the  Comte  de  Clermont  in 
command  of  the  army  in  Western 
Germany,  348-350;  writes  to  con- 
gratulate the  Due  d'Aiguillon  on 
his  victory  at  Saint-Cast,  352,  353  ; 
again  urged  by  Bernis  to  make 
peace,  353 ;  scene  between  her  and 
the  Minister,  353,  354 ;  determined 
to  get  rid  of  Bernis,  354 ;  and  re- 
place him  by  the  Comte  de  Stainville, 
French  Ambassador  at  Vienna,  354— 
356  ;  causes  Stainville  to  be  recalled 
to  France  and  made  Due  de  Choiseul, 
35^1  357  j  her  duplicity  towards 
Bernis,  357,  358;  procures  his  dis- 
grace, 360-362  ;  question  of  her 
relations  with  Choiseul  considered, 
365,  366 ;  sends  Soubise  to  co- 
operate with  Broglie  in  Hanover, 
373 ;  causes  Broglie  to  be  recalled 
and  exiled,  374 ;  sends  d'Estrees  to 
replace  him,  374  ;  compelled  to 
admit  the  necessity  of  peace,  377  ; 
suggests  the  erection  of  an  equestrian 
statue  of  Louis  XV.,  379 ;  resolved 
on  the  destruction  of  the  Jesuits, 
386  ;  persuades  Louis  XV.  to  aban- 
don them,  3S9 ;  caricature  repre- 
senting her  shooting  the  Jesuits, 
390 ;  alarmed  at  the  King's  liaison 
with  Mademoiselle  de  Romans,  392  ; 
visits  the  lady  and  her  child  in  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  394,  395  ;  re- 
assured by  the  Marechale  de  Mire- 
poix, 395-397  ;  her  health  gradually 
failing,  398  ;  the  result  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War  her  death-blow,  399,  400; 
her  chagrin  at  the  loss  of  the  King's 
affection,  400  ;  and  at  the  growing 
power  of  Choiseul,  401  ;  "dying  of 
melanchuly."  402  ;  falls  dangerously 
ill    at    Choisy,    402 ;    rallies    and   is 


INDEX 


Pompadour,  Marquise  de — continued 
removed  to  Versailles,  403 ;  orders 
Cochin  to  make  a  drawing  in  cele- 
bration of  her  supposed  conva- 
lescence, 403  ;  has  a  relapse,  404 ; 
her  will,  404-410;  her  death,  411  ; 
her  character  and  influence  con- 
sidered, 412-416 

Pons,  Comtesse  de,  92 

Ponteveyle,  M.  de,  25 

Preandieu,  Madame  de,  326  note 

Prie,  Madame  de,  72  note 

Provence,  Comte  de  (afterwards  Louis 

XVIII.),  147, 359. 406 

Puisieux,  Marquis  de,  75,  77,  203,  302, 
328 

QUESNAY,     140,     178,     198,     199,     312, 
362 

Quinault  (dramatist),  lOi 

Rameau  (composer),  240 

Jiape  of  the  Lock,  Pope's,  249 

Ravaillac,  325 

Rem,    Mademoiselle    {danseuse),    172 

note,  232 
Renaud,  Father,  9  and  note 
Resseguier,  Chevalier  de,  149 
Ricci  (Generalof  the  Jesuits),  383,  384, 

388 
Richelieu,  Cardinal  de,  240,  278,  301, 

415  . 
Richelieu,  Due  de 

head  of  a  conspiracy  to  awaken 
Louis  XV.,  4 ;  plots  to  separate 
Madame  de  la  Tournelle  and 
the  Due  d'Agenois,  8 ;  supports 
Madame  de  Chateauroux  during 
the  King's  illness  at  Metz,  12-14  ; 
arranges  an  interview  between  the 
lady  and  Louis  after  the  latter's 
recovery,  17,  18 ;  endeavours  to 
provide  the  King  with  a  successor 
to  Madame  de  Chateauroux,  102 ;  his 
hostility  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
102,  103  ;  tries  to  interfere  with  the 
performances  at  the  Theatre  des 
Petits  Appartements,  103,  104;  his 
quarrel  with  the  Due  de  La  Valliere, 
104;  three  times  in  the  Bastille,  104 
and  note  ;  reconciled  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  105 ;  his  connection 
with  the  disgrace  of  Maurepas,  1 1 2 
note  ;  jealous  for  the  honour  of  his 
family,  1S5  ;  declines  the  favourite's 
proposal  to  marry  her  daughter  to 
his  son,  185  ;  supersedes  d'Estr^es 
in  command  of  the  army  in  Western 


Richelieu,  Due  de — continued 

Germany,  333,  334  ;  lampooned  by 
the  Parisians,  334  and  note ;  his 
shameful  rapacity,  335 ;  drives  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  into  a  cul-de- 
sac,  336  ;  receives  a  flattering  letter 
firom  Frederick  the  Great,  336,  337  ; 
concludes  the  Convention  of  Kloster- 
Zeven,  337,  338 ;  superseded  by  the 
Comte  de  Clermont,  347 

(quoted),  5  note,  22,  326  note 
Rochechouart,  Duchesse  de,  42,  102 
Rohan,  Armand  Gaston,  Cardinal  de, 

35,  36  and  note 
Rohan,  Louis  Rene,  Cardinal  de,  183 
Rohan,    Princesse    de,    188,    366   and 

note 
Rohan,  Vicomte  de,  88 
Roissy  (Receiver-General),  153 
Romans,  Mademoiselle  de 

a  formidable  rival  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  391  ;  her  appearance, 
392  ;  has  a  son  by  Louis  XV. ,  392  ; 
the  King's  letters  to  her,  392  note  ; 
her  indiscretions,  393,  394 ;  visited 
by  Madame  de  Pompadour,  394, 
395  ;  her  fate,  397 
Rossbach,  Battle  of,  340,  341,  343,  345, 

355 
Rothschild,  Baron  Adolphe  de,  260 
Rothschild,  Miss  Alice  de,  261 
Rouille,  Marquis  de,  305,  313,  330 
Roure,  Madame  de,  90,  408 
Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques 

his  Devin  du  Village  performed  at 
Bellevue,  106,  107 ;  and  at  Fontaine- 
bleau,  246  ;  his  eccentric  conduct  on 
this  occasion,  246 ;  off"ends  Madame 
de  Boufflers  by  a  passage  in  La 
Nouvelle  Heldise,  247  ;  Madame 
de  Pompadour's  opinion  of  this 
work,  247  ;  its  popularity  among 
the  fair  sex,  247 
Rue  Saint-Mederic  (Versailles)  :  see 
Parc-aux-Cerfs 

Sackville,  Lord  George,  367 

Sacy,    Father   (Jesuit),   228-231,   236, 

237,  383,  384,  386,  415 
Saint- Bartholomew,  Massacre  of,  387, 

390 
Saint-Cast,  Battle  of,  352 
Saint-Cyr,  Convent  of,  270,  271 
Saint-Florentin,  Comte  de,    180,  206, 

313 
Saint-Florentin,  Comtesse  de,  194 
Saint-Marc  (detective),  iiS,  119,  124 
Saint-Severin,  Comte  de,  75,  iii,  203, 

302,  328 


429 


INDEX 


Sainte-Beuve  (quoted),  252,   262-264, 

415,  416 
Saissac,  Madame  de,  59 
Sartine  (Lieutenant  of  Police),  127, 128, 

129 
Sassenage,  Madame  de,  81,  92 
Savalette  (financier),  157 
Saxe,  Marechal  de,  58,  73,  90,  92 
Saxe-Iiildburghausen,  Prince  of,   340, 

341 

Sens,  Madame  de,  172 
Seran,  Comtesse  de,  182 
Seven  Years'  War,  The,  81  note,  300, 
339>  378,  388  note,  399,  400,  414, 
^415 
Sevres,  Manufactory  of,  263,  266,  268- 

270,  394.  415 

Steele  de  Louis  XV.,  Voltaire's,  191 

Silhouette  (Comptroller-General),  368- 
372 

Smith,  Sydney  (quoted),  154,  412 

Soissons,  Bishop  of:    see   Fitz-James, 
Fran9ois 

Sophie,    Madame   (daughter  of  Louis 
XV.),  171,  359 

Sorel,  Agnes,  240,  390 

Soubise,  Mademoiselle  de,  183 

Soubise,  Prince  de 

a  frequent  guest  at  Madame  de 
Pompadour's  petits  soupers,  81  ; 
ambassador  from  the  favourite  to 
her  husband,  232 ;  serves  under 
d'Estrees  in  Western  Germany, 
332 ;  in  command  of  French  army 
in  Saxony,  334;  incapable  of  main^ 
taining  discipline,  339 ;  utterly 
routed  at  Rossbach,  340 ;  his  de- 
spair, 341  ;  lampooned  by  the 
Parisians,  341  ;  prevented  by 
Madame  de  Pompadour  from  re- 
signing his  command,  342,  343 ; 
made  Marechal  de  France,  367 ; 
sent  to  co-operate  with  Broglie  on 
•  the  Lower  Rhine,  373 ;  defeated 
atVellinghausen,  374,  375;  executor 
of  Madame  de  Pompadour's  will, 
407,  408 ;  her  bequest  to  him,  410 

Souvre,  Marquis  de,  138 

Stahremberg,  Count  von 

succeeds  Kaunitz  as  Austrian  Am- 
bassador at  Paris,  283 ;  formally 
offers  the  Austrian  alliance  to  the 
French  Court,  2S7 ;  hesitating  be- 
tween Madame  de  Pompadour  and 
the  Prince  de  Conti,  289,  290 ;  de- 
cides in  favour  of  the  lady,  290 ; 
urges  the  marchioness  to  endeavour 
to  gain  Louis  XV.  over  to  the 
Austrian   side,    298 ;    confers   with 


Stahremberg,  Count  von — continued 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  Bernis 
at  Babiole,  301  ;  his  daring  pro- 
posals, 301,  302 ;  signs  the  First 
Treaty  of  Versailles  on  behalf  ox 
Austria,  305  ;  his  letter  to  Kaunitz, 
305,  306 ;  his  letter  to  his  Govern- 
ment announcing  the  fall  of  d'Ar- 
genson,  328;  astonished  at  the 
coolness  with  which  Bernis  receives 
his  dismissal,  361 

Stainville,    Comte  de :     see  Choiseul, 
Due  de 

Stanhope,  Philip  Henry,  Earl  (quoted), 
282 

Stanislas   Leczinska,   ex-King   of  Po- 
land, 3,  60 

Stanley,  Hans  (quoted),  401 

Sully,  Due  de,  240 

Sundershausen,  Battle  of,  367 

Tancrkde,  Voltaire's,  244,  374 

Tencin,   Cardinal  de,  3  note,  31  note, 

34,  62 
Tencin,  Madame  de,  31  and  note,  32, 

61 

(quoted),  3 
Theatre  des  Petits  Appartements,  The, 

84-107,  135,  145,  195,  269 
Tournehem  :  see  Lenormant  de  Tour- 

nehem 
Tremouille,  Duchesse  de,  9 
Trusson,  Madame,  87,  88 
Turgot,  300 

Vade  (street-poet),  17 
Valenti,  Cardinal,  353 
Vandieres,    Marquis    de    (brother     of 

Madame      de       Pompadour)  :       see 

Marigny,  Marquis  de 
Van  Loo,  Carle  :  see  Loo,  Carle  van 
Vaucanson  (mechanician),  250 
Venceslas,    Marmontel's  adaptation  of, 

250  note 
Versailles,  Fijst   Treaty   of,  266,   305, 

328 
Versailles,  Second  Treaty  of,  328,  329, 

356 
Villars,  Marechal  de,  113 
Villemur,  Madame  de,  26,  85 
Vinlimille,  Marquis  de,  6 
Vintimille,    Marquise   de    (mistress    of 

Louis  XV.),  6,  7,  184,  380 
Voltaire 

in  the  role  of  Court  flatterer,  55-57; 
the  first  literary  protege  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  240;  writes  La 
Princesse  de  Navarre  at   her  sug- 


430 


INDEX 


Vol  taire — continued 

gestion,  240-242 -;  and  Le  Temple 
de  la  Gloire,  242 ;  falls  into  disgrace, 
242,  243 ;  and  ridicules  the  mar- 
chioness in  La  Pucelle,  243  and 
note ;  dedicates  Tancrcde  to  her, 
244 ;  and  sincerely  regrets  her 
death,  244;  ambassador  from  the 
favourite  to  Frederick  the  Great, 
280,  281 

(quoted),  12,  280,  325  note 


Voyer,  Marquis  de,  91,  92,  93 


Wade,     Marshal     (English     general), 

II 
Wallace  Collection,  The,  259 
Wallace,  Sir  Richard,  226  note 
Walpole,  Horace,  285 

(quoted),  366  note 
Wraxall,    Sir    Thomas    (quoted),    276 

note 


THE  END 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  &'  Ca 
Edinburgh  dr*  London 


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